Their Fairytale II Indecision of the Heart
by Pen Sil
Summary: Sequel to Their Fairytale. In this world you cannot fight what will happen, no matter how much you fear what will come to pass and falling in love with a king, falling in love in general, was something she feared more than anything else.
1. The Inevitable

**Chapter 01; The Inevitable**

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><p>The door to the small house opened with a loud bang, making her jump.<p>

"Wendy!"

She was slow in her turning, not really sure what her old friend was doing in her humble home. Putting down the ointments she had been working on, she turned to address her guest.

The sight of Lady Lucy Dragneel sent a shiver down her spine. The pregnant duchess was out of breath and her cheeks were painted with red; and though she was breathing heavily she still held an expression of someone extremely distressed.

"What's wrong, your highness?" she exclaimed and hurried to the younger woman. "You're not even supposed to be running around like that!" she added in a strict voice. "You're in your seventh month!"

"I know–" the lady hissed. "But you have to come! It's a matter of life and death!"

Swinging Lucy's arm over her shoulder, she told her to explain as they hurried to their destination.

"The king of our neighbouring country is visiting my father and younger brother as they are currently signing a treaty," she explained, and directed the woman towards the castle. "Something weird has happened to him and he has collapsed. His advisors are accusing us of using sorcery, but I haven't been able to feel anything – and neither has my husband," she added for good measure, as she wasn't the strongest when it came to magic. The duke was one of the strongest mages in the kingdom so the fact that he hadn't felt anything was a problem.

"And if you don't do anything about this," the duchess continued, her voice rising an octave. "I'm afraid it'll come to war!"

"Your highness," she said in a calming voice. "If he is just sick you don't have to worry. And please calm down," she added, "It'll be a problem if you stress your body and go into labour in the middle of the street."

A sigh. "I know, I'm sorry."

"No problem," she smiled. "Besides you were the ones who bought me a house in the capital so I could oversee your pregnancy. Now concentrate on breathing."

As she worked her way to the castle, Wendy studied the woman. She had known her for about five years and she was surprised it had taken her so long to get pregnant. Lucy Dragneel, earlier princess of Fiore, had been married to her husband for four and a half years, but had lived with him for six. The first two years had been because someone had threatened her safety and she had gone into hiding. No one had known that someone lived in the castle she had taken refuge in, but it had turned out to be a great coincidence as he had been the one to save her in the end.

The lady had long blonde hair, that had only grown over the years, deep brown eyes and pale skin (although it was not as pale as most of the nobles). She wasn't very tall, but slender and with curves that made the healer a tiny bit envious. She was wearing a dress she had probably stolen in the kitchen so she wouldn't be discovered in the crowd. Pregnancy also suited the fiery woman and every time Wendy saw her she seemed to be beaming even more than usual. It was incredible that she took her cursed relationship so well. Wendy wasn't sure she would be able to do the same if it ever came to that.

They reached the castle and were immediately met by a man in the middle of his twenties. He was of average height and had salmon coloured spiky hair and dark eyes. He was wearing black trousers and a blue coat and a very worried expression.

"Natsu, please take better care of your wife," Wendy greeted him.

He huffed and took the woman from the healer's arms, lifting her completely off the ground. "What was I supposed to do? She ran out of the meeting before I could stop her," he said and cradled her gently.

He then turned his full attention to the younger woman and smiled warmly. "But I can guess why she was in such a hurry, please follow me."

She nodded and followed closely behind him. She watched the two exchange whispered words and sighed silently. Loving someone so deeply shouldn't be possible. Rubbing her arms she tried to push the feeling of dread away, she had work to do and she would have to be focused to do this right.

Natsu stopped in front of a door and Wendy immediately smelt the incense coming from the room behind the wall. She inwardly cringed, religious fools. Her old mentor opened the door and put down his wife. Lucy took a deep breath and straightened a little.

"All of you, out!" she snapped.

The lords and ladies in the room turned in surprise at the voice, not used to being ordered around. "Excuse me," someone in the crowd said.

"As the oldest child of the current king of Fiore, I order you all out!"

"So you can do what?" a woman said. "Kill our king?"

"No. So our healer can cure him," Lucy snapped back.

"Don't be a fool," the woman said, stepping forward. She was taller than the duchess with long black hair and dark grey eyes. She was wearing a long white dress and eyeing Lucy's lack thereof. "Healing magic died down several centuries ago."

"Only among humans," Natsu said.

"Oh? And what other races have the ability to use healing magic?"

Wendy bit down in her lip. She wouldn't like this. What she was were known as monsters in most cases, and people were afraid of them, but she had to do something. Although she was so terribly shy and hated it when people looked at her.

"Dragons."

The woman laughed. "Yeah right! So now you're trying to tell me that this little peasant is a dragon. A _monster!_" The other nobles joined in on her laughter. Her laughter was the first to die, though, and she faced the healer with cold eyes. "Prove it."

Her hands were shaking. "…"

"Here," someone said. "I have a cut from swords training. If you can heal that…"

It was a page that had been holding water in a corner. Natsu waved him over and Wendy sank something before turning to directly focus on the kid. It was hard to focus on the arm with all the incense. It was clouding her vision and her nose was being invaded and it made her head dizzy. It was a simple spell though, and as she rested her hand over the small cut on the page's arm, she felt a cool energy run through her body.

There was a chorus of gasps as she removed her hand to reveal clean skin and no cut.

The page looked delighted. "Thanks a bunch, sis!"

She felt a smile grace her lips. "You're welcome."

"So now that this is proven," Lucy said, her legs were trembling. "Please remove yourselves from this room."

Most of the nobles hurried out, mumbling amongst themselves. The woman that had dared her, did as her kinsmen but sent them all dirty glares. Only two were left. One was a man with long spiky black hair and a little girl with long silvery blonde hair ending in curls.

"You two as well," the former princess snapped.

The girl shook her head. "We're his majesty's aid, we're not allowed to leave his side unless he tells us to," she explained.

The pregnant woman's eyes narrowed, but Wendy cut in. "It's okay, I'll need some help getting the room cleaned." Lucy was about to protest and Wendy sent her former master Natsu a look he clearly understood.

His hand landed on Lucy's waist and he guided her out of the room asking her questions on how she was feeling. She brushed them all off in an annoyed voice and Wendy heard her start rambling about being independent and how everyone was fussing before the door closed behind her.

"Okay," she said. "Introductions first. I'm Wendy Marvell."

The black-haired man grunted. "Gajeel Redfox and this is Charle of Extalia."

The small girl nodded. She wasn't more than eleven years old, but already very beautiful. Her face was emotionless, but Wendy got a feeling she was kinder than she looked.

"Good," she felt herself smile. "I hope you can work fast."

"Of course," Charle crossed her arms. "Anything for His Majesty."

"Okay," she said. "First we have to remove all the incense, it's not healthy for the lungs," she instructed. "Open the windows. All of them."

They nodded and hurried around the large room to open the windows. She opened the door and called for one of the guards standing outside. "Can you please get a basin of warm water from the kitchen and towels?"

"Yes, ma'am," the guard said. As they waited for him to come back, the air cleared and she closed the windows again. She ordered the man to light fire in the fireplace. "We'll have to heat up the room," she explained. "If he gets warm it's the best method to cure him naturally."

"Can't you just use magic?" he asked.

"I don't _just_ use magic," she explained. "Only if it gets crucial."

He nodded and did as he was told. With that she turned to the bed. She hadn't paid much attention to her patient, but as she turned she stopped in her tracks. He had blue hair, like herself, and slightly tanned skin. A weird scar was drawn over his right eye and looked more like a tattoo than a scar, but it was. She could see his giant magical reserves, something that didn't happen often. Of course she could activate her ability to when the individual was weaker, but like Natsu this person held so large reserves of magic she could see it. It enveloped him like a bubble of water trying to heal him.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and laid a hand on his forehead. He was burning up.

Her eyes snapped closed and something sucked her into his subconscious. _What?_

This had never happened to her before. It was dark everywhere, complete mind numbing darkness, and she still felt something pulling her mind farther into that darkness. What was happening?

Everything happened very quickly then. A light suddenly appeared in front of her eyes and expanded.

"_Who are you? Your Soul is strange. Your magic is soothing._"

"What happened to you?" She asked. His voice was deep but had something to it that made it seem extremely friendly and kind. It was weird. "Why did you faint?"

"… _did I really faint?_"

"That's what Lady Lucy tells me."

Something golden flashed in front of her eyes and suddenly she was staring at a light formed as the man she was caring for. "_I've never seen a soul this pure before."_

"You can see souls?"

"_Yes. Like you can see magic._"

"Were you the one that pulled me in here?"

"_Yes._"

"Why?"

"_Something told me you could help me._"

"I was helping you. I'm supposed to heal you."

"_Please hurry then._"

He was moving away from her in the dark and she was suddenly back in her body. Why was she holding his hand? How long had she been out? Not very long it seemed for Gajeel and Charle were leaving her alone. They were talking in hushed voices and as she let go of his hand she heard a knock on the door. It was the guard, back with the towels and water.

She thanked him and wet one of the towels, before placing it on the King's forehead. He was young, she noticed. Lucy's age. This was, of course still younger than her, but he looked older than her and she felt younger than that age.

Slowly she placed her hands on his chest and held them there. Closing her eyes she focused on the sickness inside him. It wasn't an unnatural one, he had just reacted very badly to it for some reason. She concentrated and slowly directed the immune system to the bacteria and backed out of his body.

"There," she muttered and noticed that she had started to sweat. "I've speeded up the body's healing process. He should be awake in about an hour…"

She started to rise, but her body wouldn't move. The world spun and her sight darkened.

* * *

><p><em>Someone was crying… someone… her? Why was she crying?<em>

"_Hey. Are you okay?"_

_Everything was dark. Where was she? "Grandine! Mother disappeared! Where did she go?"_

_Warmth and light filled her._

* * *

><p>A dream?<p>

She woke to the white ceiling of the infirmary. She had never seen it from this angle before, but over the last few years she had worked there a few times when she had been with Lucy or Natsu in the capital. It had been a while since she had fainted after a healing. It hadn't drained her reserves–

"Hey, you're awake," a male voice said. "Sorry about that. My body does it on reflex as a defence against magical assassinations."

She tried to focus on something. Anything. She had heard the voice before… somewhere.

Hands helped her to sit. "But one would think that a dragon had more power than a single human could absorb," as he spoke she felt energy being pushed into her reserves and she slowly felt awake.

"It's… I was born weak," she explained without thinking. "And female dragons are weaker than male ones. Because of this I don't have much more magic than you, but you are also stronger than the average human."

"How do you know?" she could hear laughter in his words. "You can barely open your eyes."

She forced them open and was met with the smiling face of her patient. "I can see and feel magical strength, your majesty," she said after having recovered from a near heart attack. She wasn't good with people she didn't know and she shouldn't have been talking in this way to someone of such rank.

He nodded. "Quite a handy gift to have."

"Thank you, your majesty." She hesitated before continuing. "May I inquire knowing why you are out of bed?"

He had dark green eyes she noted. And he was very handsome as well. The golden magical energy had become something she could ignore, but knew was there. It was like the presence of a soul. It would never completely disappear.

"You've been out for a day," he informed her. "By now I have to be back to my duties." He rose from his seat and pushed the chair over to the wall. "I'm afraid I have a meeting to attend to, Ms. Marvell, but I have to apologize first."

He kneeled in front of her bed and she felt her cheeks heat up. "W-why?"

"My subordinates treated you in a terrible way," he said as he looked down. "They have dishonoured both of us and I ask for your forgiveness."

"_Your majesty_," she exclaimed in horror, her cheeks heating even more. "Stand up, _please_! I'm nothing, but a mere commoner I have no honour like a gentleman or a king. Nothing wasn't as it should be!"

Green eyes caught distressed brown ones. "You are a dragon," he reminded her. "A powerful being way over the mere presence of humans. I have high regards for your race, Ms. Marvell," he added. "You have also saved two countries from war and my own life. I'd say you have enough honour. And more than most nobles. It isn't something that comes with title and privileges as most thinks. It is something that comes with character."

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><p>Well, here we are, with a pregnant Lucy and an insecure Wendy, ready to start the second part of my Dragon trilogy. I hope you will follow the story to the end, even if it doesn't follow Natsu and Lucy as closely as the first one. This fic will be uploaded on Wednesdays so keep a close eye on it.<p>

Thanks SOOOOO MucH to my beta of this round, I couldn't have done this without her. She sat down and read the WHOLE thing through before I started publishing this. I LOVE her for it. Check her out! She's pretty damn amazing herself! .net/u/2608968/Miki_Boy

I cannot BELIEVE I am the first to actually write anything to these two. And noooo don't give me shit about Erza Nightwalker. I don't get it. They've never actually MET before it's RIDICULOUS!

See you in a few days

- Pen


	2. A Pause in the Turning

**Chapter 02; A Pause in the Turning**

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><p>"I want her with me."<p>

_What?_

She stopped abruptly and leaned against the wall outside the study. It had been a few days since she had been out of bed, and she had been spending them in the keep working for the head nurse in the infirmary. She had been on her way back from the pharmacy with herbs when–

"_Excuse_ me," Lucy snapped anger clear in her voice. "Wendy belongs to no one and you can't just claim her."

"Lucy," an older man's voice warned. "Remember your place."

"But father!"

"I understand that she is not a part of any particular country," her former patient said. "But that she has been under the wing of Lord Natsu since she was young." There was a pause and she had a feeling her old mentor was nodding to confirm this. She was wrong, though. "And since she technically doesn't belong under any authority I am sure she can make her own choices."

The door opened wide beside her and the blue haired king's gentle features greeted her. "Can't you?"

Her cheeks heated and she bowed before him. "I-I'm sorry, your majesty, I did not mean to–"

"It's okay, Wendy," Natsu said as he appeared behind the king. "This concerns you so please come in."

"O-Of course," she stuttered and collected the herbs in her arms before following the two men inside.

Lucy was tapping her foot against the floor and glaring at her father. "How did you know she was out there?"

"I sensed her," he shrugged.

"Wendy," Natsu addressed her. "This _is_ your decision. What do you want to do?"

"I-I'm not sure, your highness," she said. "I – uh – I made a promise to you and Lady Lucy that I would be around during her pregnancy as we _are_ dealing with a new dragon." The nobles and royals in front of her nodded. "But I would also like to see more of the world and this… seems like a good opportunity to do so."

The young king's eyes brightened. "So you'll come?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, your majesty," she bowed as she did so. "But the promises I have made comes first." She straightened again and offered him a smile. "But I would love to be part of your aid after Lady Lucy has given birth. Of course, I will have to depart at any time when she gets pregnant again."

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><p>"Are you sure about this?"<p>

She shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted. "I mean… I can travel the world by myself, I have the wings, but… I want to do something while I do it. It would be boring to just see places but not experience the people there."

Natsu laughed at this. "Is this the one that goes here?"

She studied the herb for a moment and shook her head. "It's the one that goes in this basket." She added and directed him to it.

His face lit up. "Oh, right! They do look more alike."

She giggled and continued to go through the medical record she was currently reading. "Prince Happy sure has a lot of poisoning experience."

"He's a crown prince, what did you expect?" Charle, who was currently helping Natsu, said. She was actually correcting all his mix-ups and mistakes, but the young Dragon wasn't giving up. "Lord Gerard has been through the same training."

Wendy looked up. "Lord who?"

The young girl glared at her. "The King of Edoras, obviously!"

"…Oh," she muttered. "Oh, right. We were never formally introduced, not that it is required for a peasant to be–" Natsu cleared his throat in an attempt to stop her from degrading herself further and she immediately stopped talking with a timid "sorry."

"Hey! Hey! Wendy, are you in here?" an excited voice sounded.

They all turned to greet the crown prince of Fiore, but were met with a staring teenager. He looked a few years younger than her, and she knew he was fourteen. He had short unruly blue hair and black eyes. He was, like his sister so often was, dressed in clothes from the kitchen so he could sneak around without being discovered by his teachers; although a sword was hanging from his belt, which gave him away most of the time.

Right now, he could have been a peasant, though, for he had forgotten etiquette quite fast as his eyes fell on the beautiful Charle.

"I knew it," Natsu whispered to Wendy.

Giggling, she whispered back. "Since when did you become such an expert on relationships?"

He crossed his arms. "Who of us is married?"

The fun of the conversation disappeared and she turned back to her notes. "This and that are completely different things."

He eyed her for a moment before turning to Happy who was still staring at an annoyed Charle. "Happy, what brings you here?" he asked.

The prince quickly snapped out of it. "I heard Wendy was working at the castle," he said and added in an annoyed voice. "No one seemed to feel like telling me, so now I've decided to boycott all my classes as punishment to everyone."

"So you're punishing your people in the long run by not studying to become a great king," the cold voice of the Extalia heir sounded.

Happy gaped at her. "Well – well, I…" he turned to Wendy as a way of escape. Funny how he was only quick-witted around his older sister. "Hey! You're looking at my medicinal journal!"

Ignoring him she turned to Natsu. "Don't you think you ought to be a proper gentleman and introduce them as is common curtsey?"

Her old mentor chuckled. "Right. Lady Charle, this is Prince Happy of Fiore. Your majesty, this is Lady Charle of Extalia, aid of King Gerard of Edoras."

The next hour was spent with the young prince trying to start a conversation with the young lady, but with almost no result (though she did show him the proper respect, something she noted on more than one occasion that Wendy did not do when it came to Natsu).

"Although I take it dragons do not have the same sense of title as humans," she added. "Gajeel is the same. The only one he ever shows respect is his majesty. And even then he only says 'lord Gerard'."

"Lord Gajeel is a dragon?" Wendy was shocked. She hadn't picked up on that at all. She turned to Natsu as he chuckled at her. "You could have told me!"

A hand landed on the top of her head. "You have to learn for yourself, Wendy."

She huffed and crossed her arms. "You're young too," she muttered.

"Don't remind me." There was pain in his voice as he said this and she dared a glance in his direction. His eyes were downcast.

She had forgotten… if he had been eight hundred years older he would die with Lucy. If he had been older they would not need to be separated in such a cruel manner. "I'm sorry, Natsu."

"There's nothing either of us can do," he sighed and forced his usual smile back in place. "At least the en'you will keep her alive longer than normal humans."

"How can you do this to yourself?" she whispered. "Knowing that you will be forced apart at some point and still–"

"We do it because we have no other choice," he snapped, his dark eyes suddenly angry, harsh. She hadn't seen this before. "We will be separated eventually, whether we like it or not. It's better to enjoy our time together than fear coming time apart." His intense glare caught hers as he grabbed hold of her wrist. "When your time comes, and it _will_, you must not fear it."

She felt tears prickle in her eyes, and she knew he could see her doubt there. She held it in, nodded and turned back to her work.

It was another few hours before she left the infirmary for the kitchen where she would be able to find dinner. Her three companions had long since left her to her work, and she had gone through the results of Natsu's work to make sure there were no mistakes. There were a good few, but she noticed that he had gotten better. Much better.

It took time to close down and she had to check on the few current inhabitants before closing the doors. So when she finally left her keys in the top drawer of the clean working desk it was well past sundown and she was sure no one would be in the kitchen, except the few giant pots Cook always left on the stove for people who needed something to eat in the middle of the night.

No one was there except from a sleeping soldier in the far-away corner. She searched the kitchen for a moment before noticing the stash of bowls on a far up shelf. Yawning she used a bit of magic to lift her from the ground to grab one.

"Would you be so kind as to take one for me as well?" a voice sounded from behind her.

She did as she was told and grabbed a few extra for people that would be coming after she had left. "The spoons are in the–" she stopped in her tracks as she turned to find the young blue-haired king standing a few feet from her. "Your majesty. What are you doing down here?"

"Been out," he made a movement with his hand towards the travelling ropes, lying over a chair. They were dirty and as she looked down she noticed that his brown boots were stained with mud. "I never really liked the confinements of the castle."

"But in a city that is not your own you should be more careful!" she chided. "Assassins can get a better hold of you here than –"

Her cheeks heated and her voice died as she was interrupted by a deep laughter that sent something warm through her body. It was as if she had been hit by a current of summer air. "I – uh…" She felt powerless now. She had no idea why. Weak in the face of this man, she was. Shy, even.

In an attempt to shake it off she hurried around the kitchen fetching spoons, knives, some bread and butter and scooped some of the stewing into the bowls before handing him a bowl and piece of bread. Putting the rest down by a seat she found mugs and poured tea for both of them.

"You didn't apologize," he noted as he sat down and started to cut the bread.

She stopped to gape at him. She had completely forgotten her place!

"No! Don't do it now!" he said in a hurry that made the soldier in the corner sit up with a yell. They watched him for a moment. He slowly leaned back against his wall and fell asleep again.

"That really isn't healthy for his neck," she mumbled already rising to come to his aid.

"Leave him be," he muttered as he tasted the stewing. It had been a while since he had had anything to eat and he was starving.

"But–"

"No buts. Eat something."

She was gaping at him again and he was starting to wonder how royals treated their subordinates in this country. Of course, he had seen her interact with Lady Lucy and Lord Natsu so those two seemed to at least treat her like a human, but the rest…?

Finally she sighed and grabbed a piece of bread. She ate silently, but in a very timid manner that fitted her quiet and shy character. But there was something else there. Her body language was speaking in volumes and her white soul was vibrating in a weird way. He had never quite seen this kind of fear, but he recognized it quite easily. She was a very trusting person in general so why would she fear him? He was of royal birth, to be sure, but so was Prince Happy so that couldn't be it.

"Are you alright?"

She looked up, and then around as if she had been unaware of her surroundings, then muttered a small "oh" before turning a weak smile that didn't reach her eyes. "It's nothing your majesty needs to worry about," she assured him. "It's really very silly."

"Now I'm curious," he admitted with a smile and he had to repress a chuckle as the young woman blushed.

"Well… if you must know–"

"I must."

Her cheeks reddened a little more. "I've…" her voice died down. "I'm…" her eyes turned away from his and she seemed to become very sad. "I'm still young when it comes to dragon age–" her hand closed in a fist. "But… I've already noticed how much faster humans die…"

She wasn't sure if she should be telling him this. She didn't even know if she could trust this man. "And… having spent so much time together with Lord Natsu and Lady Lucy I've come to fear what they have…"

"What do you mean?"

"You see…" she sighed and moved her spoon around in the bowl. "Dragons… don't fall in love very often. When they do it's for the rest of their lives. Try falling in love with someone who only lives one tenth of your lifetime." She met his eyes and he noticed the pain in them. "Wouldn't it hurt to see them die? To know that you'll never in your life be able to see them again?"

She noticed immediately how he looked away. Pushing her empty bowl away, she sighed. "I'm sorry, your majesty, I should not have confided in you," she mumbled and started to rise.

A warm hand grabbed the one of hers that was still resting on the table. "Wait."

Looking down she met his eyes. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry if I put pressure on you to tell me," he admitted, "I thought… you seemed afraid of me and I wanted to know why."

Her insides softened and she smiled. "Why do you care so much? About my opinion?"

"I don't know…"

His grip tightened on her wrist and he rose. He was suddenly too close for comfort, leaning down a bit and hovering over her with this weird look in his eyes. And he was slowly leaning closer. She could feel his body heat against her tiny form and his breath on her face. She knew she was blushing and her heart was hammering in her chest.

* * *

><p>uh-oh!<p>

... can you say cliff-hanger?

I'm oh-so sorry. xD nah, not really. Will you be able to wait a whole week for the next chapter? I hope so ;) even if it IS written it won't be up 'till wednesday. *walks off while laughing like an evil maniac*

*stops* oh god, I really _am_ turning into Drossy, aren't I?

Oh well.

Thanks for reviews.

See you next week

- Pen


	3. The First Climb

**Chapter 03; The First Climb**

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><p><em>Not good…<em>

_Not good…_

_Not good!_

She was frozen in place by emotions she could not control. What was she to do? He was still holding her, hovering over her! And it would be disrespectful to pull away! She couldn't do that! But she wouldn't be able to do anything if he actually did_-! _

_Her panicked mind blanked_.

…kiss her. Somewhere inside her someone sighed deeply and wistfully, and she felt her panic rise again.

Something touched her right under her collar bones and she almost jumped away like a scarred lamb. Which she was.

"Your soul is very soothing," he muttered. He wasn't closing in on her anymore. True, his face was mere inches from her face, but he wasn't doing anything to move closer. He didn't seem to want to, but she saw the warm smile and the teasing glint in his eyes and she knew he had been testing her. "It's very … relaxing to be around, I've noticed," he continued and poked her again.

She couldn't find it in her to answer. She was completely speechless and didn't have a clue as to how to answer him, but he seemed to want to say more. "That's why I want you to come with me."

"What?" she whispered. "Because of my soul?"

"Yeah."

She felt a smile form on her lips and she risked teasing him. "Because it's _relaxing_ to be around?"

The expression he developed sent her into a fit of giggles and he finally stepped back, if only a little bit. "Very funny," he mock-glared at her, but it quickly turned into that heart-warming smile. "It's actually very hard to explain…" he admitted as he let go of her hand. "It emits a feel of calm waves as if you're floating right over the sea, with the sun above you, or as if you're lying on the grass watching something flutter across a blue sky…" he trailed off as he watched her eyes flutter closed.

Gerard noticed how her white soul was pulsing, almost… reacting to his words. He watched her for a moment, enjoying the beauty of this woman that was far older than she looked. He couldn't believe this. She looked barely seventeen. Her pale skin was completely fair and looked so soft he could almost feel it under his palm. Her midnight-blue hair fell in elegant waves until it met her hip, where it stopped. She wasn't the most curvy person in the world, but it seemed to fit her timid character.

It was addictive, really. To be this intimate with a person. Not that he had really ever touched her, but she… reacted to him in such a way that it even affected her soul. Was this what dragons felt? He hoped not, for it hurt him to think of one day causing her pain. He'd have to ask Gajeel about it some time.

"Now now, you two," a slurred voice sounded and they jumped apart. "Don't get too close in such a public place."

It was the soldier from the corner who had apparently been watching them for some time. "Though of course," he added, "I wouldn't mind gettin' to know yer lil' better, girlie."

The dragon was being her usual self and could do nothing but try to stutter an apology and to not cause a scene so Gerard grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the kitchen.

She felt slightly dizzy as he pulled her along the halls and up a few staircases. What had just happened? His voice that had trailed off, which she now knew, had pulled her somewhere else. Somewhere with green fields and blue skies and –

"Where do you sleep?"

She was immediately pulled out of her reverie by her own stuttering thoughts. "E-ex-cuse me?"

"I'm sorry," he shook his head and looked away, his gaze betraying his conflicted emotions. "I'll just walk you to your room so that drunk doesn't corner you somewhere. I know it sounded inappropriate. It wasn't meant to be."

"Oh… yes, of course," she whispered. Shaking her head to drive back the haze as she reminded herself that he was a king and she was far below him. "I have a small guestroom on the third floor."

"Let's get you there then." His hand left hers and she hid it behind her back, trying to forget how cold it suddenly felt.

It took far too short a time for them to reach the room she noticed, and neither of them talked to the other as they walked. Wendy was still trying to figure out what had happened in the kitchen but Gerard had regained his shield; a pleasant smile that would fool anyone. He walked straight past her room and she had to call him back.

"Gera-" her hand slapped across her mouth. "I'm so sorry, your majesty!"

"It's okay," he had turned around to face her and was now smiling a far warmer smile. "You're welcome to call me by my name as well. Not many do anymore and I fear I may forget."

She was fidgeting with her hands. "I'm sure you won't." Her cheeks were red. "It's a very ordinary name for a king." She felt her face split in a beaming smile. "I like it."

His smile fell for a moment and then he just stared at her.

"You're– Gerard? Are you okay?"

A smirk crossed his features and something in her chest gave a small feeling of pain. It was gone in an instant. "May I call you Wendy then?" he asked as he grabbed her hand and bowed to kiss the back of it.

She stared at the scene in front of her, completely flabbergasted. Why was he treating her like this? Why was he treating her like she was of the finest of ladies? She was nothing, but a mere healer. And then she was a dragon, a monster in the eye of most. And she had in some ways come to agree with them. She had never liked her white snake-like scales or the wide bat-like wings. She loved flying, though, but she didn't even feel like doing that much. Natsu would scold her for letting stupid humans get to her like that. But she was small, and weak and shy and she couldn't do a thing to change that.

"O-of course," she stuttered, as he let go of her hand and caught her eyes. This grip was so much tighter, she noticed as she looked up at him.

A smile grazed his face and he closed his eyes before looking down the hall. She watched him for a moment, trying to figure out the cause of his actions, though she found none. Finally she gave up and wished him a good night.

"Sleep well, Wendy."

"You too."

As she closed the door behind her for the night she realized why he was treating her in such a respectful way. He had said it himself:

"_You are a dragon. A powerful being way over the mere presence of humans. I have high regards for your race._"

* * *

><p>"It sounds like he's courting you," Lucy said during one of her check-ups.<p>

Having been greatly distracted by the work in front of her and ignoring the temptation to communicate with the child – which she had found she could, but wasn't telling any of the parents – Wendy could only ask her to repeat what she had said.

"Gerard! It sounds like he's courting you," Lucy said in exasperation.

"Eh?" And that had obviously gotten to her. "Why would he do such a thing?"

"I'm not sure he's doing it to marry you or anything," Lucy hurried on. "But… the things he does, the way he speaks to you… if you start receiving presents from him be on your guard."

"Yes ma'am," Wendy muttered. "But… don't you think he's just trying to get me to agree to go with him?"

"Manipulation is never a good thing," Lucy huffed.

"I take it you don't want me to go?" Wendy giggled, as she finished her observation.

"I definitely do not want you to go," the former princess declared. "I don't know this king and I don't trust him."

"You're completely healthy," the healer informed. "And you should be giving birth in a good month. Also, ultimately this is my decision."

"One month? But I'm only–"

"I know. It's not unusual with dragons," Wendy yawned and stretched. "I know you're worried that he's like Lucia. But I don't think so. That man always had a–"

"I know he was always hostile, but Gerard's family have a history of insanity," she interrupted, annoyance edging into the lady's voice. "His father, for one, tried to suck all magic out of the air! And charm can be just a good weapon as any, especially when it comes to intrigues and social life. You have no idea who he is in privet."

"I know that," Wendy sighed. "But… please, let me make my own decisions."

The duchess' eyes flickered and uncertainty showed on her face. She did not object but Wendy could see she was not convinced. Of course, the woman was only looking out for her.

"Besides," she said, as she closed a box with instruments. "Gajeel Redfox, one of the king's aid, is a dragon. He's way older than both Natsu and I, but he's a dragon none the less. I think I'll be perfectly safe."

With this she exited the infirmary and headed for the castle gates. Leaving like this was not typical of her, but she needed Lucy to understand and if she argued with her she knew that the lady would never understand. Leaving like that would make her point sink farther in, hopefully.

* * *

><p>As predicted the baby came a month later. The king of Edoras had gone home only a few days after Lucy and Wendy's conversation and during that time they had had no interaction, except for a good bye from the king and a promise from Wendy, much to Lucy's dismay, to visit him shortly after the birth.<p>

It was a complicated birth that would have cost Lucy her life had Wendy not been there to interfere. That was how it was with mothers of dragons. They usually died giving birth to the strong species. The child could not be held responsible, though, as it seemed more a curse than anything else.

It was a girl and she was to be called Resha, in memory of Natsu's late mother who Wendy had never heard spoken of. Apparently she had been a very powerful sorceress who held the secrets to etherion, which had not been passed to her son.

The girl was quite healthy and showed the specific signs of having inherited her father's trade not long after birth. Of course, a dragon grew up in human form, so you couldn't see it on the form. But a dragon grew faster than a normal human, at least during the first few months and before long she could walk and utter words like a three year old.

It was by then that Wendy announced that she would be visiting her new friend.

They had corresponded over letters for the last few months and it had shown another side of him… something she had already seen in some ways; a quiet thoughtful man that cared greatly for his people. But she found that he was also a great tease and he seemed to flirt with her. Of course the latter may have been her imagination, but she certainly wasn't telling Lucy.

Speaking of the lady, she wasn't overly thrilled that her friend was going, but did not argue this point. Instead she decided to pay for the trip and insisted on warning the young dragon about the dangers of men. Sitting through an hour long session of warnings from the new mother really wasn't Wendy's cup of tea but she remained polite, paid attention and decided to keep what was said in mind, though she was sure nothing would happen. In any case, it wasn't like she had any honour to protect. That was for the nobility to worry about, after all.

She didn't really need the special treatment, which she had argued, for she had wings, and though she was a great deal weaker than most dragons she had dealt quite well until Natsu had married into nobility. Then again, she mused, it was nice to be able to relax on a journey. And it was a journey that would last several days.

Edoras lay directly south of Fiore, past the dessert and in a vigorous part of the Continent. The rich land had helped the kingdom greatly and they prospered in many ways. Culture, art and science were so far out compared to other countries that most believed it sorcery. It would take her several days to cross this much country and even when she passed the border and met up with Gajeel it would take them days to reach The Holy City.

It was a very weird way to travel, in Wendy's opinion, for she didn't see much of anyone. It was as if she was completely cut off from the people she was used to observe. She saw them pass the window, on the streets and in the cities that she passed, but they did not see her.

* * *

><p><em>He had a mission. That was clear from the day he had saved her. She would only be able to be with him until he deemed it unsafe. And she knew that that day was moving closer.<em>

_But she cared too much for him to–_

* * *

><p>"Oi. Jou-chan!"<p>

She was startled awake by the gruff voice of someone she had not expected to hear from so soon. Had they really travelled for that long? The desert had not been as bad as she had thought it would be, but she had based her guesses on what humans said and that was not the same.

The door was opening and a dark spiky-haired shape appeared. "Get up, already. You're changing ride here."

"Lord Gajeel?" she yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"Bored?" he was grinning a very evil grin.

"Yes," she sighed. "I'd have preferred flying."

As he helped her out of the wagon he managed to look even larger than before. "You _are_ quite weak so I'm not surprised why fire breath wants to keep you safe."

She huffed and crossed her arms. "If you must know it was Lady Lucy who insisted and before she came along Natsu has always treated me like an equal," she said, before turning and thanking the driver.

"Oooh, so she does have temper," the older dragon taunted. "Good to know. It'll come in handy when we arrive. And it's Gajeel. I don't approve of titles."

She nodded and followed him to another wagon that would take them to The Holy City. The city protected by the Gods. As far as she knew no one was allowed to travel directly into it as a respect to the spirits. Once, Natsu had told her, dragons had been celebrated, but even here the people had grown afraid. Still… it was custom for the Metalicana to keep guard over the King. The current Metalicana was Gajeel, an elder dragon with a sadistic but loyal heart.

All this she was told on the travel from the border to their destination. It was only a day's travel on horseback and much more comfortable than in the wagon.

"Gerard asked about dragon nature," the metal dragon said, his voice being of a warning nature. "He hasn't done that before."

She watched him warily, waiting for him to say more. She wasn't sure if he even wanted her close to his king, seeing what could happen between a male human and a female dragon. She didn't want that, of course, but it would come soon enough, as Natsu had already said.

"That kid is special," he continued. "I'm not sure how, but I can feel it. So I'm not sure if it's you or him I should be worrying about. Maybe the both of you."

"You don't seem like the type to worry about others," she commented.

"It's my job to worry about his line," he answered gruffly. "But I also worry about my kin. Especially one with the rare ability of Healing."

"I'm pretty sure it's nothing special among Sky Dragons," she answered.

"And how many sky dragons do you think exist today? Not many, that's for sure."

"Oh."

And that was the end of that conversation. It only added to her worries, but what could she do?

The Holy City was nothing like anything she had ever seen before. Its round towers reached into the sky, and were visible far from the incredible place. It was surrounded by walls thicker and whiter than other towns, and as she came closer she saw the gold-rings floating high above the castle. It was an incredible sight. Truly, worthy of a king like Gerard.

Inside the people seemed… peaceful. They minded their own business but Wendy quickly noticed that this dark-skinned folk did not seem at all like Fiore's population. They walked with a light gait and the air hummed with … happiness. The women were beaming and the men stopped in the streets to talk in loud animated voices.

She sucked it all in, watching in fascination, at a scene she was sure she would never see again. It was amazing.

The keep was placed in the middle, with the main-roads all leading there. It was of completely white stone, with only the tops of the towers in another colour; blue. The building in itself rose over the rest and was more a fortress than a keep of a holy city. The City of Saints.

* * *

><p>Well, I'm starting my exam project today and it will be running for the next few weeks. It's to be handed in on the twenty-second of December, and though I have already finished this fic I'm not sure if I'll remember to publish. If so, please have patience.<p>

Thanks to the few of you who have been following this.

See you

- Pen


	4. The King's New Aid

**Chapter 04: The King's New Aid**

* * *

><p>The King was waiting for them in the courtyard, with Charle shaking her head in disapproval behind him. He was chuckling slightly at her and talking to different people while enjoying the sun. Be it nobleman or stable boy.<p>

As soon as the two dragons rode into the courtyard he rose and his face seemed to brighten. His broody aid was helping the young woman down when he reached them. "How was the journey?" he asked, addressing Gajeel.

"Easy. No problems."

"Good."

"I'll take care of the horses," the dragon informed and pulled the two animals away from them, leaving the shy young woman alone with the king.

He bowed deeply leaving her a stuttering excuse for herself. "Welcome to the Holy City, your Grace," he said. "I've been looking forward to your arrival."

"Y-Your majesty," she exclaimed. "Please! Do not dishonour yourself!"

His smile grew. "It will only be a dishonour if you do not answer my bow."

Her eyes widened. "But I am not acquainted with–"

"Bow," he whispered, his eyes dancing with amusement. "Like I just did."

"O-Oh…" She did as he advised. "I am very grateful that I am allowed to see your beautiful country." When she rose a warm smile fluttered across her face and it made her almost glow. "It is truly a beautiful place."

"Well, the tour is only starting," he grinned. "First of all; the kitchen and your quarters. As my aid, you will be placed in a well-guarded area close to my own quarters." As he explained her privileges further he guided her towards a smaller door to the left of them. From here they entered a large, crowded area.

It was hot and the air hummed with the yells of many different people, it also smelled of delicious food. The kitchens looked like those in Fiore, really. A large woman with a dirty apron and coloured clothes beneath it came over. "Your majesty! What are you doing down here!"

"My apologies, Cook," he said, smiling pleasantly. "But I thought I would show the newest addition to my aid around, as it is on my request that she is here in the first place."

The woman took one look at Wendy and frowned. "Look at you! Skinny to the bone! When have you last been fed, child?"

"Uh… um…" Wendy hesitated not really comfortable with the situation. The woman was obviously concerned for her health, but she seemed to take care of things in a very aggressive way. "This morning, I guess."

"This morning?" she turned to the king once more, pointing a large spoon directly at his face. "Is this how you treat your aid? And when have you last eaten yourself?"

Gerard scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Around the same time, I guess."

"You're unbelievable!" Cook exclaimed. "Come with me!"

"Better do as she says," he whispered to Wendy.

"I heard that!"

* * *

><p>It was a good hour before they were let out of the kitchen with many threats yelled after them; some of them being less than sensible, but then again… most of them were the exact opposite; "if I work my ass off for nothing, why even have me hired?"<p>

Charle was waiting outside holding a large stack of papers. "It seems you've finally caught Cook's wrath," she commented drily.

"Nah… I caught that many years ago," he sighed. "She has always been such a passionate woman." He eyed the papers cautiously. "And what do we have here? More slave work?"

"Yes, but not for you," the extalian princess said. "This is homework from my mother."

"Ah… yes, Shagotte has always been strict," Gerard said and smiled fondly. "Run along and get those done. Gajeel should be here shortly."

The young girl huffed and muttered something about being treated like a little sister, but did as she was told and ran off. As they watched her leave, another one rounded a corner. "There you are," the gruff man said as he stopped in front of them, glaring. "You may be as safe as it gets here, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't inform your aid where you're going."

"The cook kidnapped me," Gerard sighed, "but I apologize."

"And she had a damn right to do that," Gajeel said, "you haven't eaten all day."

"I had work."

"But not enough to sit out in the sun and wait for a guest."

Wendy inhaled deeply before breaking into the argument. "Milord," she said and had the undivided attention of both Gajeel and Gerard. "You have to take care of yourself or you will wither and die. Your work is important, but if you're suffering from lack of food and exercise you won't be able to work in the end."

A smirk spread across the old dragon's face. "Gihi! I'm going to love having you around, little missy," he said and swung an arm over her shoulders, leaving her knees buckling to keep standing. He was heavy. "You better start bugging him about his health. If you're lucky Cook will make an alliance with you."

"I-I'll do my best," she muttered.

"Gajeel, get off her," Gerard said. "You're too heavy."

"That may be," the dragon said as he let go, "but that doesn't mean you can say it so bluntly."

The king grinned. "Of course I can."

The quarters put aside for her consisted of three rooms; a bedroom with the largest bed she had ever seen in her life, a former sitting room filled with books on herbs and tables equally filled with different tools for her work and a large dressing-slash-bathroom with a pre-installed tub. One of the workshop walls was replaced by windows and from there one could see a large garden filled with herbs and colourful flowers, looking up she saw the golden rings floating in the sky.

"What are those?"

"Our history, melted into the black gold," he said. "Runes are embedded there so they will never fall as long as a king still lives."

"How far back does it go?"

"Back to the first king, to when there were still Dragons in the sky."

"Wow!" Her brown eyes sparkled in admiration as she watched them swirl.

He took his time to study her there, with no distractions other than the rings she seemed so fascinated by. Her long dark-blue hair was pulled up into a high ponytail and her creamy white skin was stained with dirt from the road. Her clothes were just as dirty and he had to admit that the leather pants and simple shirt did not suit her as much as a regular dress did. She wasn't very tall, but she still had an air of natural elegance over her and it didn't help that she was smiling so brightly right at that moment.

Clearing his throat he turned away from the sight and continued to introduce her to her new life. "A maid will wake you in the morning and help you get ready, you are welcome to throw her out so you can prepare for yourself," he said, "though it is standard procedure that ladies are helped."

"I can take care of myself, you know," she said. The words were as much a warning for him not to make her life too comfortable as it was to tease him. "But I'll be grateful for a bath in the morning. And soon too."

"Of course," he said. "I'll call for one right away. We can continue our introductions to your life over dinner."

With this he left her to her own devices, though he called for a servant to help her get settled. Her bags had been brought up and in less than ten minutes they had been emptied and everything was in place. She almost felt embarrassed that her clothes filled so little of the large wardrobe. She had always liked small things; a small house, a small amount of things, a small bed, a small wardrobe. Everything to avoid the loneliness Natsu had experienced for more than hundred years.

But here it would be very different. Everything was so large; the tables, the bed, the wardrobe, the windows. She knew she was small, but now it felt like everything was towering above her, and even when the bath tub was readied later on, she sunk farther down than the designer had originally intended. But it was nice with a bath, having been on the road for so long and, though she had been sitting down, it had been a bumpy, sweaty, ride.

Afterwards she dressed in one of her usual dresses and walked back to the windows. The sun was setting over the city and the shadows had lengthened. As she looked up she noticed that the rings were still quite visible against the red sky, but something had changed. Marine-blue letters were starting to shine in the dark; the runes, and the story of this kingdom.

A knock on the door alerted Wendy that it was almost time for dinner and, as she turned to answer the knock, the door opened to reveal a girl that looked to be no more than fourteen years old. Her chest-length brown hair was placed in a loose ponytail that fell down over one of her shoulders and on top of her head was a weird green hat. She was wearing a yellow and blue dress that did not follow any dress-code Wendy had ever seen before. But the weirdest thing about this girl was that she was barefoot; no shoes or socks were present, but her hands were covered in white gloves.

"Hello!" she exclaimed cheerily and in a flash she was suddenly mere centimetres away from the young dragon. "You must be Wendy! The king has told me so much about you! Wow! You _are_ beautiful and you don't look like a dragon at all! I can't believe Ultear says you and Gajeel are monsters! You're both too nice and both well-liked by the king!"

Wendy fought the urge to step back from the energetic youth, which was surprisingly easy; she liked this girl for some reason. "I'm sorry to ask, but… who are you?"

"Oh… I'm so sorry I forgot to tell you! I'm Coco, the messenger of King Gerard. I'm also Assistant Chief of Staff," a grin, larger than her smile, surfaced on her face and she continued, "I'll also be the one to introduce you to your new home, so you don't get lost, and follow you around at inconvenient times – when Gerard, Charle or Gajeel isn't doing it."

Feeling a laugh bubble through her chest Wendy said "I'll be looking forward to getting to know you, Coco, and thank you for taking care of me."

"Welcome, now come on!" Coco grabbed her hand and started pulling the young dragon towards the door. "Dinner is ready!"

With that she was pulled through several corridors, up and down several staircases, told a great deal about the castle's inhabitants and finally entered through two great doors and into a room filled with the noise of people and the smell of food. But Coco didn't let go here. She pulled Wendy, with such a speed and force that she didn't notice much around her, all the way to a table where a drama was being displayed.

"You can't just move me," a dark-haired woman spat in silent disobedience. She was trying not to make too big a scene and only those at the table seemed to notice.

"You know as well as I, Ultear," Gerard said. Wendy noticed that he had changed clothes from the white shirt and riding pants he had been wearing earlier to dress clothes completely in black and much finer quality. He seemed to be growing annoyed with the situation. "That my aid is to sit closest. You may be from a long line of noble mages and you may be respected, but you do not have the authority to argue with the rules of this court – let alone your king."

This shut her up, so completely that she seemed to have been slapped across the face. It took her a little while to recover, but when she did she turned on her heal and stalked out of the throne room, as he watched her leave Gerard's eyes fell on Wendy and his face brightened.

When she neared he motioned a chair for her, which was placed to his left. "I'm sorry you had to hear that," he told her as she sat down and he pushed her chair so she was sitting in the proper angle.

"I'm just sorry to have caused that young lady peril," she muttered, glancing at the doors.

"Nah… Ultear is something you shouldn't be bothered with," he told her as he sat down beside her. "She has way too high thoughts of herself and it is time she was put in her place. I apologize for having used you as an excuse for that."

Shaking her head she turned to her plate. "No, it's okay," she said, "but… I would prefer if she didn't start seeing me as an enemy…"

"Too late, jou-chan," Gajeel said, as he sat down beside her. "That woman… hates everyone and everything – except the king – and especially us dragons."

"Do you know why that is?"

Both men shook their heads.

"Oh."

Silence fell over the royal table as they started eating and while a noble or two came to discuss something with their king, or get introduced to his new aid, there was silence in the otherwise loud room. When they finally finished Gerard turned his full attention to the woman beside him.

"I'll go through your schedule now," he said.

"Okay."

"Coco will, as she has probably said, be helping you around the next couple of days until you get used to the castle and its surroundings. If you ever need anything you can always go to her, or me or any of my aids. Your days will differ from each other but usually they will go like this; you will be spending your early mornings, afternoons and evenings with me as my aid, and your late mornings until noon will be spent either in the herb garden, in your workshop or in the infirmary. If you need free days or nights please tell me."

It was a fairly simple schedule and she was happy that she would be spending so much time with the young king. She knew it would hurt her in the end, but maybe the pull was a bit too great.

When she arrived back at her room that night she felt something tug in her pocket. When she reached down and pulled whatever it was out of her pocket it only took one look at the item for her to drop it.

Leaning against the door she stared at the silver chain with the marine blue runes staring back up at her.

"No…"

* * *

><p>Whoops. Another cliffy<p>

I'm sorry it has taken so long for me to upload but that school project took all my time. But I'm back and everything should run as scheduled.

See you in a week

- Pen

Ps. Happy chrismas xD


	5. Stepping Away

**Chapter 05; Stepping Away**

* * *

><p>The En'you is a magical chain you only find in dragon society. It is created by a part of a dragon's soul and is a very powerful item meant for protection and prolonging of life. It does not grant eternity but it grants a longer time for lovers who merge their souls. Which is what dragons do. When Natsu Dragneel told Lucy Heartfilia that it was something he had inherited from his father it was a lie, for it was something that had appeared in his hands when he was alone on the first night after their meeting. He lied to her to protect her; she would feel frightened if she knew that he had known all along, and later he could not bear telling her because he knew she would feel hurt knowing that he lied.<p>

The En'you appears before a dragon when he, or she, has found that one. The one they share a connection with. That one human they can merge souls with. And the merging of souls will not keep you together longer in this life, it will create a chain through time that will make sure that in the many lives you lead you will keep meeting, stay together. And why is that? Because the gods, when they had created the rules of the dragons, could see what cursed creatures they were. And to make up for their failure.

So when Wendy Marvell saw this simple silver chain with the blue inscriptions on the inside she immediately knew that her worst fears had been confirmed. What lay before her on the floor, touched with tears and provoker of sobs, was a symbol of what would now follow; great sorrow for two people.

… or one. If she had anything to say about that.

Quickly scooping it up (and ignoring the tingling sensation that shot through her body at the touch) she hurried to place it at the bottom of her bag. Here it would be nagging at her, but it would _only_ be nagging at _her _conscious. Never his.

And with that she undressed and re-dressed and went to bed, leaving herself to many sleepless hours filled with worry. So it was no surprise that when Coco knocked on her door the next morning she had had very little sleep and was thankful that she was a dragon and didn't need as much sleep as humans. Of course, she would need to Turn soon if she wanted to avoid Turning in the middle of the day in a crowded area.

She bathed quickly and dressed in working clothes before heading with Coco to the throne room where she ate with the King and his aid in a far more silent room.

It was obvious to Gerard that something had happened to the girl overnight. She was unusually quiet, but polite to people who addressed her. She was always smiling and watching others with curious but cautious eyes. Now she was poking at her food and looking far away. She didn't even greet Charle when she wished her a good-morning, which he knew she usually would have considered as rude.

Another thing that puzzled him was that her soul was pulsing in an extremely weird way. It seemed to be swirling as if she had contained it within a barrier, and it seemed almost dull and … was it crying?

The more he looked the more worried he became. What had happened to make her this sad? Had she started to regret coming or had Ultear done something to her?

"Lord Gerard," Gajeel addressed him to his right and the king had to tear his eyes away from Wendy for the time being. "Whatever you do, do not confront her with this," he whispered to his king. "No one has hurt her, but herself and she will tell you when she has accepted what has happened."

"But what _has_ happened?" Gerard hissed.

"Something that happens to all dragons," the aid explained, "but because she is so young she is determined not to let it happen. She will soon learn, though, that this is something she can't fight. Natsu has been trying to get her to accept it, but I see that it has not helped…"

"How do you know that it has happened?"

"Her smell has changed," the dragon said and wrinkled his nose to underline his words. "I know that you can see it in her soul."

"And has it happened to you?"

"You're awfully curious, then again I already know why that is," he smirked in that annoying all-knowing way, but sobered quickly. "Yeah… long ago. Hopefully I will see her soon."

"_Her_?"

Again the dragon smirked. "You'll learn soon enough…"

And that was all the king got out of his aid. Not that it helped him one bit. Gajeel was good at keeping secrets but he also seemed to know exactly how to deal with whatever Wendy was going through, and as he _was_ a dragon it would probably be best to listen to what he had to say. This meant that he would have to ignore the way she was acting and treat her like he usually would.

According to Gajeel she would have to tell him at some point which meant that he would just have to be patient and wait for her to accept whatever it was and get back to her own self.

When breakfast was finished Wendy looked to the king to see what was to happen now but he was deep in a conversation Gajeel so she turned back to staring out across the slowly exiting crowd. When the whispered conversation was finished Gajeel came over and mentioned for her to follow him.

"I have something to discuss with you," he announced. "We'll meet the king later."

She muttered a small "okay" and followed him, surprisingly, back to her own room. As she closed the door behind herself she noticed how he was standing in the middle of her room sniffing the air.

"What was it you wanted to–" he moved, very quickly and in a swift motion, toward her traveling bag "Hey! Don't–"

"Oh, I will," he grinned reaching down and fishing something out of it; the en'you. She knew that, even before it was free as she felt a physical stab of pain in her chest. He quickly threw it to her, so it wouldn't hurt her more than it already had, and she was somehow able to catch it. "You should always keep this with you, or do you want people like Ultear, who would like nothing more than to hurt you, to get their hands on it?"

"How did you know?" Wendy asked when she had caught her breath.

"Your smell has already changed."

"What?"

"You heard me," the older dragon snapped. "And you're acting weird. The king is worried and you obviously don't want him to know."

She watched him warily. "Aren't you going to tell me to accept it?"

He shook his head. "You're too young to understand it properly. You should have been older," he smiled sadly, "most are… Igneel was eight-hundred, Grandine was seven-hundred and I was seven-hundred–" as he spoke he pulled a blue and black necklace out of his pocket and looked at it "You and fire-breath are both too young, but at least the idiot managed to accept it. You're worried and afraid, but the loneliness is only bad if you stay isolated from other people." He stayed silent for a moment and then put the necklace back in his pocket.

"Jou-chan, I cannot force you to accept this with words," he told her, catching her eyes, "the only one that can convince you otherwise is the king himself. Do not cause hurt where it isn't needed."

* * *

><p>With Gajeel's words in mind Wendy forced herself back to the person she usually was. She kept the en'you in her inner pocket and noticed immediately that Gerard's eyes were caught there. Worried, dark eyes, that held this expression the next few days, but seemed to brighten extremely the moment he noticed that she was acting like herself again.<p>

She should have known that he would notice immediately. He was forced to notice after all… And if he didn't already feel a certain way about her this would also change over the next couple of months. Nothing could change that; it had already been decided, not by her, not by him, but by their meeting and the horrible fate the gods had arranged for them.

As Gajeel watched her, she noticed that he seemed proud of her, but still disapproved of her belief that this should not be and that she would do anything not to let it happen. She did not even notice herself, that she was being a hypocrite; she was already hurting even if she was trying to prevent it. Natsu would be angry with her…

The next few weeks were filled with little to do, but to attend the king's meetings and learn the new methods the pharmacists and natural healers used in Edoras. It was all interesting, she had to admit that, and it seemed to soothe her to always be around the king (not surprisingly). She planned with Gajeel when they were going flying and he taught her a great deal of things about being a dragon that not even Natsu knew. Then again… Natsu had lost his father in an early age, just like Wendy had so it wasn't all that surprising that he did not know all that he actually had to learn. She decided to tell him about it when she got home.

So this was how the weeks drove by at high speed and with only few worries. The weather slowly became warmer, and the summer was suddenly over them. The Holy City was filled with markets each day and it was clear to see that Gerard's country was prospering. The people were happy and waiting for what came with summer for at midsummer's night a festival was a tradition and the city streets would be filled with lights and magic.

Even the nobles were excited and it made the castle seem much brighter to Wendy, even in her troubled state for she decided to forget the necklace weighing on her conscious and in her pocket. Not that that was easy, especially when she noticed how the person who was supposed to receive it seemed to keep looking at it.

And apparently he wasn't as keen on keeping his promise to Gajeel as he seemed. Two days before the festival he held her back after a meeting.

"One sec," he said quietly, as his eyes followed the other two aids. "There's something I want to show you."

"Shouldn't we –"

"No," he said. "They usually try to stop me with speeches about responsibility. And… don't you start on me!" he added quickly when her eyes narrowed.

"Fine," she sighed, "I'm not your guard, but your healer."

"Exactly," he grinned, "now come on!"

With that he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the door in the other side of the room. Wendy was starting to think that the castle was specifically built for the convenience of having the king running away from his aid, but then she noticed how warm his hand was against her one and how the en'you seemed to weigh the doubled in her pocket.

He pulled her into a small shed outside, behind the stables and found two very worn out travel capes. It was one of those that he had used when he had been in Fiore, she noticed. "You're quite small, so my older cape should fit you well," he said and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she muttered. "I take it we're going into town."

A new grin crossed his face, "You bet," he said as he secured the cape and made sure that his garments were not easily visible. "It's been a while so I really need to relax."

"Do you usually do this often?" she asked as they exited.

"Yeah… usually a few times a week," he admitted, looking almost sheepish. "But I didn't want to disappear when I had a new aid who wouldn't know what was going on, so I've kept my little excursions at bay."

She felt a pang of guilt reach her chest and couldn't find words to answer him.

"But now that you've gotten used to it here, don't be surprised if I suddenly disappear once in a while," he warned her.

"Well, if I am not notified of where you wish to go I shall tell Gajeel and Charle of your little hiding-place," she threatened in a light voice. When he stared down at her in shock she continued in a tighter voice than before; "I'm serious, Gerard, I need to know where you are if something happens."

"That's the point of an aid, isn't it?" he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as his eyes followed the road down the hill. They had just left the castle and already here the street was bustling.

On either side there were temples and people dressed in colourful robes, going through their daily routines. By the end of the road you could see a busier street with people in travel cloaks running about, and the occasional wagon wasn't out of place either.

"Okay. I'll tell you," he said after a few moments on silence. "And I'll contact you if anything happens."

"Good," she said, feeling relief flood her senses. "And I won't tell Gajeel about your hiding-place."

"Great!"

And with that he pulled her into the crowd of people, and her worries disappeared for a few hours.

The festival had brought a larger market than usual to town and there were booths that sold everything from pencils to cheesecakes to magical broomsticks and kettles. There were large colourful paper figures in the sky and children running around with candy and balloons. Others were yelling about the decorations of their houses or shops, others were putting up puppet shows and others yet were carrying goods towards the castle.

"What do you think?" he asked her when they finally found an inn with space for two who wished to get a bite of food.

"It's all so amazing!" she expressed, turning her gaze towards the street. "I've never seen anything like it!"

This earned her a chuckle and her head whipped back to him as her cheeks reddened. "What?"

"You've lived for longer than I, but it seems you know less about humans and their traditions than the smallest child," he admitted.

"Well," she huffed and crossed her arms in slight indignation. "I was raised as a dragon. I isolated myself from the world, like most dragons do, because I had no place in it. Why would I really need to learn about humans and their cultures when all I needed was to know how to heal those that came to ask for my help?"

"Fair enough," he said, as a warm smile crossed his face. And with that he completely changed subject, and not to something she would enjoy, he was sure; "So when are you planning on explaining what's in your pocket?"

* * *

><p>Sometimes I feel like just uploading the whole damn thing so I don't have to worry about "deadlines" and promises. And sometimes I don't feel like reading the stories through for grammar mistakes and typos. I hate it when they're there in others' stories so I'm really just a hypocrite… *sigh* but it's so damn boring.<p>

Anyways

I shall see you all next week, next year

Thanks for your reviews

- Pen


	6. Pressure

**Chapter 06; Pressure**

* * *

><p>"What?"<p>

All sound of merriment died in the ears of the young dragon as she stared at his curious smile and knowing eyes. Although, how much he knew, he did not give away. She realized that she did not know enough herself and that she definitely should not tell him… but what could she do? No matter what she did from now on she would hurt herself, selfish, but the other way was also selfish. Wasn't it?

A wistful smile spread across his face. "I see what Gajeel meant… and I assume that this is why your soul has been crying over the last couple of weeks." With that he made a quick movement with his hand, moved it back towards himself, and then opened his palm and they watched as the long silvery necklace removed itself from her pocket, much to Wendy's protest, and gently floated over to his hand.

"Don't–" Her voice broke and she had to gulp down air. "Please! Don't touch it!"

Her eyes were clouded by sudden tears and her heart was hammering in her chest, ready to burst with the panic. He couldn't touch it! If he did–!

"I won't, if you don't want me to," he told her sincerely and she was taken aback as his serious dark-green eyes met hers. "But if this is causing you pain – and I don't know why you would be walking around with it then – then I wouldn't want you to have it."

"It's–" she hesitated. "It's a part of me. If anyone other than–" and here she trailed of, and looked away. "If anyone other than myself were to touch it, it would cause me physical harm. I don't know how much Gajeel has told you, but it is meant for a specific person, but can also be used against me and that person if it gets into the wrong hands. Which is why he advised me to keep it somewhere near me."

"I see…" he said and it levitated back to her. "Why would dragons produce such a thing?"

"It's part of…" she trailed off and her cheeks reddened. "Dragons have a very weird way of securing their reproduction…"

Something seemed to dawn on him as his eyes widened and a look of understanding spread across his face. "That talk we had in the kitchen half a year ago, I take it?" When she nodded he frowned. "But what does that have to do with that necklace?"

She hesitated before starting to speak as she wasn't quite sure what she should tell him. "The en'you, which it is called, is something that … appears before a dragon when he, or she, meets or start to get close to that one person, who is always human. En'you means 'bond' in the Language of the Ancients and when it appears it is supposed to be given to that specific person it is meant for."

"So… why haven't you –"

"I'm not afraid to express my emotions," she interrupted. "But I do not wish to compromise his life… and I do not wish to get close to him only to watch him die."

"Aren't you just afraid of being alone?" his voice was calm and gentle, but his facial expression was serious and his eyes were saying something completely else… something she couldn't quite read. "And aren't you being unfair to that person? For as I hear it it's not a single thing, and the person meant to have that necklace is just as influenced by the en'you as the dragon."

"But what am I supposed to do?" she exclaimed. "If I give it to him I'll… I'll…"

"Do you really think that being with someone you love would compromise your life?" Gerard said.

"But when he dies…"

"When he dies you will have had many years together with him," he said, his voice quiet and his eyes gentle. "Besides… if you cry over loved ones that have passed away you'll make them sad in the next life."

Her eyes widened slightly and she straightened a little. "Who told you that?"

"Gajeel, why?"

"It's a general saying among dragons…" she fingered the necklace and put it away.

"He has been through the same thing you're going through," the king said. "And it doesn't look like the separation has taken that large a toll on him."

"I know," she sighed. "But Gajeel is strong… and he met Levy when he was seven-hundred years old. He only has about two hundred years left now. That's different since I have over nine-hundred years left."

A sigh escaped his lips and he rubbed the back of his neck in thought. "I'm not trying to convince you, Wendy," he said, "but I think you're being unreasonable and unfair. To yourself and that person, whoever he is. And you really are just hurting yourself by keeping keep this from him."

"I'm sure that's true," she whispered, looking down, studying her clenched hands. "But I just can't do it."

"Come," he said, and rose. "This place is far too depressing. The light and some air will do us some good."

And with that, he pulled her out of her chair and out of her gloom. He entertained her the rest of the day with different stories about this and that, everything and nothing, and he did his best to keep her occupied. He showed her places and introduced her to people, made sure she was always listening or talking, learning new things and getting a bit out of her shell.

In the beginning she was doing her best to protest since she would rather just go home, but little by little she opened up, smiled and forgot her current worries. Gerard, himself, was just as worried about the whole case as she was and though he did not show it, it hurt him to know that she would not give it to him, that she wouldn't even tell him that it was for him.

He had known for a while that the en'you was calling out to him, and it had filled him with an inner peace to hold it so close to himself. But he knew that she was protecting herself against what she would lose and he would not force something on her. On the other hand he also knew that what she would give birth to was a dragon and such a being could not rule a country. It would live for too long and people would disagree with such an alliance.

So in reality she had been right when she had said that it would be impossible for them to be together. He had a duty to produce an heir and she obviously couldn't do that. Well, she could, but it wouldn't be something that the population would approve of. In any case it went against his judgement to force her to do anything, so for now he would have to keep her close and do his best in protecting her.

"Gerard?"

"Yes?"

"You've been awfully quiet since we left the market," Wendy observed as they entered the gates. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, sorry to have worried you," he said. "Here let me have your coat and I'll put them back."

"Oh…" she unclasped the hinges and pulled it off. "Thank you."

She handed it to him and then hesitated, her hand on his, though with cloth between to separate their skin. "And… thank you, for today," she sighed deeply. "I'm sorry to drop all that on you. It must have been difficult to listen to."

His hand closed around her one. "If that's all you need from me then that's what I'll give you," he told her, gave her hand an extra squeeze and turned towards the stables. "See you at dinner."

She stood for a while, just staring after him, her hand outstretched. What was that? What did he mean by that? "I don't understand him at all," she muttered before turning around and walking in through the kitchen.

* * *

><p><em>She knew there would come a day when she would be forced to see the Truth. She would realize that he did not care… about anything.<em>

"_I love him…" she whispered helplessly as she stared, with teary brown eyes at the man held back in chains and covered in lacrima._

* * *

><p>She woke, sweating, staring into the darkness. The night was silent so she could easily hear the frantic beating of her heart and her laboured breathing.<p>

The clear image of the king hanging on a sort of cross with blue markings on his body, and the fact that he clearly hadn't been breathing was enough to set her pulse on a marathon. What was that?

Sitting up she focused on her breathing and felt her pulse calm down. Looking down she contemplated why she had these dreams. It didn't make sense that they seemed like memories when she was sure she had never experienced this before. How could she, the only time she had …

"Grandine," she muttered.

"_We do not live an immortal existence, Wendy,_" her mother had once said, "_but we are granted several lives. You, as a part of the Marvell clan, will come to remember certain of those.."_

"Reincarnation!" she exclaimed and jumped out of bed. "I have to-!"

_Humans are all the same…_

"That voice…" she spun to look out the window to catch the movement of something dark. "It can't be…" Shaking her head she moved to grab her coat. "He died a long time ago."

She grabbed a coat and pulled it on, exiting her room and moving silently down the hall. She had to look something up in Gerard's library. Everything she could on these two new, very important, subjects. But… should she ask the king first? She hesitated outside his door.

"Jou-chan?"

The iron dragon was just exiting himself. "What are you doing up?" she asked, walking over to him.

"Something woke me," he grumbled and rubbed his neck in annoyance. "And you?"

"I have something to look up in the library," she said.

"It's a strange time to do that," he commented. "And what were you doing outside the king's private quarters?"

"I wasn't sure if I should ask permission first," she admitted, feeling her cheeks heat. "It is his library after all."

Gajeel chuckled. "No need for that," he said. "You're his private healer. You can go there anytime you want."

"Oh…"

"Come, I'll take you."

"Thanks!"

They did not speak as he led her to the library. The iron dragon was not one for much speech and though she had a lot to ask him he did not invite for it.

"Here we are," he said, and opened the door to a large dark room. "I'll keep you company."

"You enjoy reading?" she asked, looking slightly surprised. This big brute enjoyed such pastime? It seemed incredible in many ways and she wasn't sure how it could have ever been triggered.

"Of course I do," he said, looking slightly insulted as he turned on the lights. "It's a memory of _her_. Besides what dragon with respect for himself wouldn't? We live too many years not to study."

"You're right," she muttered. "Thank-you for staying."

With that she walked into the library and started her search. And it didn't take her long to find books with theories on reincarnation. And there were several books and weird theories on it. Several sent her into a giggling fit and made Gajeel look up from his book with a weird look on his face.

But some did fit. And seemed dangerously close too. Although… Most did not mention anything about the gaining of memories.

"Yeah… your family is quite famous among dragons for having weird abilities," Gajeel said, when she asked him about it. "One being the remembering of past lives. And it seems to me like you and the king really are attached." A smile spread across his face. "You better start accepting it, Jou-chan."

When she didn't answer he continued. "So what was the other thing you were going to look up?"

She hesitated for a moment, before answering. "I saw something tonight. Something that didn't add up…"

"Which was?"

"Acnolowgia."

* * *

><p>Hi guys. Sorry for letting you wait on a cliffy. I've just been too tired and too caught up in school to do anything that I usually did. And I must admit that I still haven't gone through this, so I trust that my beta has taken care of all my mistakes.<p>

Also I should have mentioned this before; Jou-chan means "miss" or "little missy" and other things along those lines. It's an expression I have from Rurouni Kenshin and I think it fitted to the way Gajeel COULD address Wendy.

See you next time

- Pen


	7. Acnolowgia

**Chapter 07; Acnolowgia**

* * *

><p>The elder dragon did not seem surprised at all that she spoke this name. In the end, she figured that he would have seen too much in his long life to be surprised by much.<p>

"Well," he said, when he finally spoke, "that old man has been around for longer than even I can remember."

"So it's true then?" she asked as she rose. She needed to move around a little. "That he Quested?"

He snorted. "Quested? No. Acnolowgia will die soon enough. But evil always lasts longer than expected."

She turned away from the dragon, then, to look out through the large windows that showed that dawn was slowly slaying the black night. Small clouds floated past the rings, that gave light to the courtyard, but larger ones had shadowed the moon. "But why come here?"

"You saw him?"

"I think I did. But I'm not sure," she admitted. "That's why I wanted to look him up…"

"I take it I wasn't the only one who heard them, then."

"What?" she spun to face him once more. "You mean…?"

"Yeah," he grumbled as she went back to her chair. "That's what woke me. It's also why I insisted on accompanying you here."

That confused her. What… why would she be in danger of anything? She was weak and useless and only good for…

"Healing…"

"Exactly," the dragon said. "If that old man is getting afraid of his own mortality, and I have a good feeling that he is, then I'm sure that he has started Questing. A healer of your calibre would be the first place to look," when she looked doubtful he added; "Face it, Jou-chan. Even kings have asked for your assistance. Of course evil will seek you out. They came to your mother quite frequently."

Doubt turned to discomfort. She was weak, if she was to be sought out frequently by such people, by Immortality Questers what would it end with? "But… that's just a hypothesis, right? We don't know if he's actually Questing! And if so… he may be here for the festival!"

"And what would he want with this old tradition?"

"How would I know? You're the ancient protector of the king, are you not?" Something dawned on her. "Did you see when the Rings were sent up?"

A chuckle rumbled from his chest. "No. The line of this country's goes over 3000 years back in time." He sighed, then. "It's said that the first was the son of a dragon."

"What? Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. He did not inherit the dragon's gene, but his little brother did. That little brother was named Redfox, a Metalicana."

"So he's your…" she couldn't finish, was unable to comprehend what she was hearing. "But how is it possible for someone _not_ to inherit the dragon?"

Gajeel shrugged. "All I know is what my father told me," he said, "and as far as Levy could read from the Rings, it is true."

"How did she get up there?"

"I took her. The stupid girl insisted."

She gaped at him. "She sure sounds like an intelligent woman."

"She was, but sometimes she did some stupid things."

Pulling her knees up under her chin she watched him. "Will you tell me about her?" She had seen how Natsu and Lucy acted, but this stoic, sadistic man… what kind of person would have the power over him?

"I'd rather not talk about that bookworm," he sighed rubbing the back of his neck. "That woman had so much energy it depresses me to even think about it."

It was obvious that the ancient being did not wish to speak of this particular subject. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have asked!"

"It's okay," Gajeel said, "But… remember this. In two hundred years, would you like to speak of that man?"

Wendy took her time to consider this. It deserved a proper answer, after all. But… with the way she felt with Gerard now… if something happened between them. If something didn't. She would still recall him clearly for the rest of her life and she had already assumed that that would hurt. Speaking of him would… hurt even more, wouldn't it? "No. I wouldn't want to."

"Exactly."

* * *

><p>"You look tired."<p>

Looking up, she saw a younger boy with marine blue hair and black eyes. "Prince Happy!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for the festival," the boy grinned. "It sounded interesting."

"Don't you have anyone with–" Looking up she caught the eyes of her former teacher and his mate. "Lord Natsu, Lady Lucy!"

It was a complete surprise to see the two here. The two looked slightly warn out, with black lines beneath their eyes and slightly slumped shoulders. In the arms of the former princess lay a small slumbering child, the pink hair just visible over the covers. It seemed parenthood had taken a toll on the two and it slightly amused her.

Behind her she heard a chair move and she felt the king step beside her. His arm slightly brushed her left one and she tried not to catch her breath. This was getting to her. Not good.

"Your majesty. Lord Natsu, Lady Lucy," he greeted "And is this the expected Lady Resha?" The two nodded. "You are all welcome here. Although I did not expect you until tomorrow."

He knew about this? And he had kept it from her? "Of course," the king continued. "I will have a nurse and a maid assigned to the Lady and two guards assigned to the prince."

"You are very kind," Lucy said. "But I will need no nurse. My daughter is tended to by myself or my husband."

If this surprised the king he did not show it. Always the gentleman. "Of course," he said. "But at least allow me to set you up in a room with a nursery."

Lucy seemed to brighten at the thought. "Oh that would be great! Thank you so much, your Majesty!"

"It was my pleasure."

"If you'll allow me," he said, and offered her his arm, "I'll show you personally."

"That would be too much trouble," she exclaimed.

"Not at all, ma'am," the king said, "especially when I have some questions for you."

"Oh then," she hesitated and turned to her husband.

"Go ahead," the dragon said, looking sterner than usual, "I'll find you. I have some things to discuss with my fellow kinsmen."

Her gaze immediately hardened and it took a moment before she muttered an "okay" and took the king's hand.

* * *

><p>"What the hell do you think you're doing?"<p>

There was a slam of a door and Wendy jumped out of the way as Natsu stalked up to Gajeel. "What have you told her?"

The iron dragon stood his ground, though, and locked eyes with the younger one. "You're a bit too young to be lecturing me, aren't you, fire-breath?" His steely eyes had grown colder than usual and his usual sadistic grin was gone.

"I don't care how old you are," the fire dragon snapped. "What. Did. You. Tell. Her?"

"I told her to do as she pleased. It's about time she started making her own decisions."

Natsu all but erupted. Wendy could almost feel the air heat up around him and she took a step forward to stop whatever he was about to do. "N-Natsu…" she stuttered. "P-Please –"

"And you–" he spun then and almost attacked her. "Do you have any idea what you're doing to yourself?"

"Stop yelling," Gajeel hissed. "Do you want the whole castle to know what is happening between her and the king?"

For a moment it seemed that Natsu was not about to calm down. But then he inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, concentrating on something, she didn't know what. "Okay," he sighed. "The king? …I should have known."

"Yes, the king, dumbass."

"So in reality you're just trying to protect the royal line," Natsu hissed and turned once more to the iron dragon. "A dragon cannot rule a country. It is impossible as it lives for too long."

"No," Wendy whispered. She tried to force her voice to grow louder but in the end all she could say came in a whisper. "No. But I know that myself. Lord Gajeel never said anything like that."

When he opened his mouth to protest she hurried on. And _this_ time she was able to raise her voice to a normal volume. "Please, Natsu. This is my decision. I will not put such burdens on his mind, when he has a people to take care of."

"But, Wendy," Natsu sighed, his face softened. "Have you not realized that he has his own ulterior motives for keeping you here?"

This piece of information did not come as much of a shock as she had expected it would. She knew that he already viewed her with great respect and that he felt he needed her in his aid but… was there more to it than that?

"What do you mean?"

"The king is subtly courting you, Jou-chan," Gajeel said. "You are not of royal birth so he cannot court you openly. By making you his aid he has put his claim on you and no other man will lay a hand on you – either with will to harm you or with the intent to marry you."

This, on the other hand was such a clear and blunt message that it did what the other should have done; it pulled the ground away from under her feet and she stumbled, only grabbing the edge of a table in the last second. "No," she gasped, leaning heavily on the tree. "I don't believe you! Why would he -? He has no gain in this… only, only…"

"A dragon's love is not for her to decide," Natsu quoted. "But it shall never be unrequited."

_The ancient words_…

"And what about his people?"

"You seem very good at making excuses," a cold voice said.

The door closed behind a young girl with show-white hair. "Charle?" Wendy whispered. "What are you doing here? Weren't you with –"

"The king wishes your assistance," the princess said simply. "And, Wendy? Try to think of your own happiness for once. No matter how short-lived it is."

* * *

><p>"Well, wasn't it obvious?" Cook exclaimed exasperatedly when she had finally managed to get the words out of Wendy's mouth after dinner. "<em>I<em> certainly knew it from the first time you were introduced."

"Of course," she continued as she moved a giant steaming goal from one fire to another, "you've always been so shy and insecure. It's no wonder you didn't notice. And besides, the king is so good at being subtle. Only those who know him well would notice!"

"But why me…?"

"Wendy!" the cook exclaimed. "Have you _looked _at yourself lately? You're a beauty! And you have a _heart_! Which isn't something you can say of any other noble woman, except Lady Charle and, as far as I can see, Lady Lucy. One is like a sister to him and the other is married."

"How do you know so much about him?"

"I was his nurse," she said simply. "I know him better than his parents ever did, and I can clearly see that our dear king has completely fallen. Just you wait. Tomorrow night he'll sweep you off your feet."

"You mean at the ball?"

"Of course!"

"But… I wasn't planning on going," Wendy muttered and rested her chin in her hands.

"You can't be serious!"

"Of course she isn't!" A light voice exclaimed. "She seems to forget that she had some dresses to try!"

Both women turned to the blonde that was quickly walking through the kitchen. "What?" Wendy whispered. "What dresses?"

"The ones you asked me to bring, dummy," Lucy said as she grabbed the young dragon's hand and pulled off with her. "Thank-you for keeping her company, Cook!"

"You're welcome!"

…and the door slammed behind them.

"I heard what happened," Lucy said as she kept pulling Wendy along. "And I'm sorry for being so protective of you, Wendy."

"You haven't done anything wrong, Lady Lucy," Wendy said as they reached the stairs. "So you have no reason to apologize."

"Well, I think I do," Lucy huffed and halted in front of a door. "You've been fighting your own fears and I've only been adding to them. But you're… so young. And I didn't want anyone to take advantage of you."

"I know," Wendy said as she opened the door, "And thank you."

"Do you forgive me?"

"No. I forgave you long ago."

The lady stood still for moment, seemingly frozen. She had probably expected something else, but the young dragon was not about to bear a grudge. "Well, then… let's get you in some dresses!"

* * *

><p>I've had a crappy day. So to cheer myself up I updated a day early<p>

See you next week

- Pen


	8. Ball

**Chapter 08; Ball**

* * *

><p>The Midsummer festival would last for three whole days. The days were filled with work and preparations, with looking at booths in the streets and enjoying one selves. The nights and evenings went like this; the first night was mainly for the royals. Here there would be a ball to celebrate the newly appointed knights.<p>

The second night was called The Night of a Thousand Lights and here you celebrated the light of tomorrow for here people sent thousands of flying lanterns into the sky and watched them. Afterwards you were to pray to for the ones you had lost and for the ones that still stood beside you.

And the last night, The Ring Ceremony, was to celebrate the beginning of the kingdom. The King would use his magic to once again light the rings and give them power to fly over the castle for another year. This would keep the land healthy and protected.

Most of Wendy's day, on the first day, was spent (on the order of Gerard) with Lucy, Natsu, Happy and Resha. She had a check-up with the mother during the morning and everything seemed fine. Then she showed them around the town and watched Happy run laughing from booth to booth. Even Lucy and Natsu seemed to enjoy themselves greatly.

But Wendy could not. In the end she kept thinking about what had been revealed to her the day before. The arguments all seemed sensible, but even if she could see reason in how they put it, it was hard for her to accept what had been her told. In the end she could only feel sure of what was going on in that man's head if she asked him herself. But she couldn't do that… She also had to protect herself from being more hurt than she already was. So the only way she would ever figure out what was going on was if he told her out of his free will. And he _would _tell her, if he felt that way. That much she knew.

So when the afternoon came and they parted to get dressed she was surprised to see him waiting for her by the stairs to their storey. "Evening," the king addressed her.

"Your majesty," she greeted as she reached the top of the stairs. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for the ball?"

"I wanted to speak with you before getting ready," he admitted and offered her his arm.

She hesitated for a moment, feeling a slight blush cover her cheeks at the gesture. He shouldn't be offering her his arm… Which reminded her of her earlier conversations and as a result her cheeks heated even more. "Have you been standing here long?" she asked, as she rested her hand on his arm.

Walking so close to him she was able to feel the magical energy he emitted, and the en'you reacted immediately. It fell slightly more into her pocket and she cursed her own weaknesses and doubts. It would be so easy to just give it to him.

"No, I saw you say good-bye to Lord Natsu and Lady Lucy not too long ago," he told her. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Oh?"

"I need an escort to this ball," he admitted. "Someone who is, preferable, not of noble birth – as she would clearly take it the wrong way," he added darkly, "and this is not to insult you. I would have asked Charle, as she is also of my aid. But I do prefer a dance partner that is more likely to interact with me."

He wasn't looking at her, she noticed, but staring straight ahead. "O-Oh," she stuttered, "Well, well, I'd be honoured, your majes-"

"Gerard."

"Oh, right, sorry."

A chuckle shook through him, and he stopped. As he did so he turned and by doing so let go – although, somehow, he was still holding her hand. "If you'd rather not –"

"No!" the word was out of her mouth before she could stop herself. "I'm sorry. But I really want to, although…" her enthusiasm seemed to disappear. "I've never learned how to dance…"

A full rich laughter filled the air and she was immediately drawn to the sound and the way his face lit up. "I should have known," he said as he calmed down. And then he lifted her hand to his lips and caught her eyes. As his lips rested on her skin she felt hypnotized. His dark green eyes had completely caught her and she couldn't breathe. "But don't worry, my lady, I am a very good dancer and no one shall see anything but your beauty."

She stood there for a while after he had left, trying to catch her breath. What was that? What was with those eyes? Why did he say such things? With every question the en'you grew heavier and her heart did the same. Was there no way around this? Could she do nothing to prevent fate from taking its course? Should she just move along like a good girl?

* * *

><p>For a moment he was completely speechless by the sight that met him an hour later. He had known that she was beautiful, had seen it and enjoyed the blessing from day one, but… she seemed radiant. It was as if she was glowing… her shoulders were a little straighter and her chin out a little, as if she had seen how good she looked in the mirror and was proud of herself. And she had a reason to be proud; she was breath-taking! The white dress hugged her curves in all the right places and the blue sash gave it life and stood in contrast, together with her hair, to all the white. The laced and see-through sleeves added the last touch of elegance, together with her curled hair, that otherwise flowed down over her back.<p>

She fidgeted under his gaze for a moment before speaking up. "You're wearing your crown…"

The comment took him aback, but what had he expected from the shy girl? A compliment? No. The reddening cheeks were enough to tell him what she thought. "Yes," he said, and absentmindedly touched the silver jewellery. "I'm only required to wear it on special occasions."

"Oh…"

"Allow me to say," Gerard continued as he took her hand, "that you look quite stunning tonight, your grace."

A smile graced his lips as he watched her soul pulse and her cheeks heat up. He knew now what it meant that her soul reacted to his words. He knew what it meant that she was unable to answer, and he knew what it meant when she looked away. She loved him, loved him so deeply it physically hurt her at times. And she did so against her own will.

_Well… it's about time we changed that…_

"I am determined," he said as he placed her hand on his right arm, and rested his left hand on her one. "To see you smile as much as possible tonight."

She finally seemed to be able to answer him again. "I'm sure you have more important responsibilities," she said as they started walking. Her soul was back in place, although he could feel it gently, almost fearfully, reaching out for his.

Reaching out, he showed her that there was nothing to be afraid of. As he did so he gave her hand a small squeeze. He was pretty sure, though, that she had no control over her soul, but he was still curious to see what happened if they connected. And he did get a reaction; she visibly calmed down.

"I'm sure they will take a minimum of my time tonight," Gerard told her as they reached the foot of the stairs.

From here they headed down a hall to large doors that led to the throne room that had been stripped of most of its furniture to create a proper hall for the annual happening.

It was a magnificent sight that was once more waiting for Wendy. She hadn't seen the preparations so the scene was completely new to her. Thousands of lights were floating in the air illuminating the large room. The columns were turned to crystal that glinted and the tables that remained had been pushed out to the sides. Most were already present and the ladies' colourful dresses gave the illusion of a field filled with flowers. And to top it all, the ceiling had been enchanted to show the Rings floating over the castle many stories above them.

The grip on her hand tightened a bit and she looked up at the king. He was watching the crowd as they were introduced and she was suddenly aware of a thousand eyes on her and how she slowly grew embarrassed. At least she was not here alone, but… being Gerard's escort may have given her more attention than normal. "Relax," he whispered as he led her into the room.

As he uttered the word she felt a form of calm well over her and she wondered if he had secretly taken the en'you. But then… the en'you should be resting in safely in her room. So she should have nothing to worry about.

From there she was swept off while he spoke and introduced her to many different noblemen. Not once was it mentioned what she was other than his aid and his escort. She was also introduced as an amazing healer that had saved his life not many months ago and he earned her much respect. So much that by the end of the hour she was all but attacked by several young noblemen who were wishing for a dance. The king had only left her alone for a moment but quickly seemed to come to her rescue.

"I do apologize, young lords," Gerard said, as he took her hand, "but for tonight she is _my_ escort and I plan to dance so many dances with her that she will have time for no other."

"You are insinuating too much, milord," Wendy scolded him as he pulled her onto the dance floor.

"Oh, no," he said, "I am insinuating just enough."

With that his hand landed on her hip and she felt her heart stop for a moment with the intimate touch. "Place your hand here," he instructed, as he used the other to place one of her hands on his shoulder "and hold my hand like this. Now relax, close your eyes, and let me lead."

Once more she felt that wave of calm hit her and she wondered once again what it meant. But this time it wasn't just the calm, that seemed to wash over her, for as she did his bidding and closed her eyes, something seemed to pulse against her eyelids. Something golden… a small dot that seemed to grow bigger and bigger until it was all she could see.

_"Relax."_

_Gerard?_

_"Yeah." _The golden did not disappear but it seemed to form so she could see his form. In a way… it was still unclear, much like the time she had been pulled into his soul… his soul…

When she tried to recoil, his grip on her seemed to tighten. "_Relax, please, Wendy."_

_Why are you doing this? What's going on Gerard?_

_"I wanted to speak with you in a place that no one could overhear," _he told her.

_And how does this look to the people on the outside?_

_"This conversation takes place in another form of time. You have nothing to worry about."_

_That wasn't how it seemed the first time…_

_"I'm in control of this place, remember?"_

_Oh… well, I guess that makes sense. I do not have a lot of knowledge when it comes to souls and their connections._

A chuckle. _"No, but you haven't had any need to know anything before now."_

_I guess that's true. And since you're going to use this way to communicate with me, I may as well start to learn. Will you teach me?_

_"Of course! But not now." _There was silence for a small while and she figured that he was trying to collect his thoughts.

_What does this have to do with? Why the secrecy?_

_"Because it could be used against both you and me. I've been trying to find the right moment. A connection through souls and minds is hard to create and you have to be open for it. You haven't been in a while. Your soul only stopped crying yesterday…"_

_I was… crying?_

_"Yes. I assume it had to do with the en'you… which is also what I wanted to talk to you about."_

_Gerard… please don't… I can't – _

_"It's for me, isn't it?"_

And her heart betrayed her, leaving her unable to lie. _Yes._ So this was why he had wanted to talk to her in here; she was unable to lie. _But I can't – I can't give it to you. It's…_

A feeling of warmth and comfort fell over her and she knew that it was coming from him. _"I know. I'm sorry. I had to know."_

Everything slowed then… as if she was pulled out of that golden place that was filled with comfort. The ballroom came back then, in a rush of motion and someone yelling her name in shock and worry.

She knew who it was that called her while she fell, but it wasn't him that she saw. Her eyes were caught in dark purple ones and her ears were filled with a sinister laughter.

* * *

><p>And now it's official. She knows he knows, even if he knew most of the time without her known. The story will move a bit faster from now on. And we got the first look at the villain. Now… was it he who did something to her or something else?<p>

Sorry for forgetting to upload. School is crazy

Hope you enjoyed this.

- Pen


	9. The Night of a Thousand Lights

**Chapter 09; the Night of a Thousand Lights**

* * *

><p><em>The sky was clouded and the rain was falling heavily. Where was that cat? Charle couldn't run that fast, could she?<em>

_Barely able to see anything for the water in her eyes she wondered briefly if she would catch a cold, before a dark shape formed in front of her. The man stopped there… looking down at her._

"_Wendy…"_

_That voice…_

* * *

><p>Another memory… Would their story end soon, she wondered. It was hard to know how much she would ever see of them, but it seemed as if her memories were centred on Gerard and she figured it had something to do with the fact that … that he was her mate. Could she really call him that? Did she have the right?<p>

Rubbing her eyes she wondered where she was. Why had she even fainted? It couldn't have been because of the soul connection could it? He wouldn't have taken her energy; he was in control of that place, right?

"Do you see what I mean?" the angry voice of Natsu Dragneel sounded, as she heard a door open. "It's clearly affecting her."

"This has nothing to do with your theory, fire-breath," Gajeel snapped. "I've never even heard of a dragon being affected in such a way."

"That's because you've never heard of a dragon going against her call for a mate!"

"You're insane–" They entered her room and he immediately shut up. "You're awake," he grumbled. "Good. We have to tell the king."

"There is no need," a calm voice said, and yet another man entered. "I came by to see how she was doing."

Gerard moved easily past her two kinsmen and kneeled by her bed. "Are you able to sit?"

She had to try a few times before she was able to speak and when she finally did manage to create a sound it was dry and raspy. "I'm not sure…"

"Here… let me help you," he said, as he placed a hand on under her arms and lifted her into a sitting position. While still holding her shoulder with one hand he placed some pillows behind her back with another.

"Thank you."

"It was the least I could do," he said, and smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired, weak…" meeting his eyes she felt fear grow in her chest. "What happened to me, Gerard?"

He sighed and sat down beside her on the bed. "Natsu has his theories," he admitted, "but Gajeel doubts them. Right?" they both turned to the two dragons, but both had disappeared. "Well," the king muttered, "that was weird…"

"Yeah…"

Wendy studied him. He seemed quite comfortable even if it would create quite a scandal if people found him sitting on the bed of a young unmarried woman. He was much taller than her and even now he seemed to hold a certain dignity. The pride of a king, she guessed. Her eyes fell on the unruly azure-blue hair, the dark green eyes and finally the scar that called so much attention to the left side of his face.

"If I…" she hesitated, "Gerard, if I gave you the en'you… would you accept it?"

"Of course I would," he said as he turned back to meet her eyes. "I've known about it for a while. Although I weren't sure why it would be calling out to me like it does, until you explained what it was."

"But… I can't have human children," she whispered.

"I know," he sighed. "Would you be willing to figure something out?"

"I can't compromise your position as king," she told him sincerely. "There is no way, I can do that."

And then before she knew what was happened he was embracing her, holding her as tightly as he could. "I'm sorry," he whispered into her ear. "It seems that this will cause you a lot of pain. More pain than it should."

"What am I supposed to do?" she whimpered into his chest. Tears were running down her cheeks. "I kept thinking that I would be able to walk away… I seriously thought…"

"Shh… it's okay," he told her. But his grip on her shoulder tightened and showed that he was not as calm as he acted. "I'm not letting you go. And we'll figure something out. No matter what."

Her throat contracted and the tears seemed to rush even faster and more forcefully. Nothing and everything made sense in those moments that he held onto her there. Could time just stop here… if they could be together like this for all eternity she would be content. Then she would be able to relax… but it seemed that not even the time she had been given with him would be anything but pain. Were the gods really so cruel?

She didn't know how long they sat there, holding onto each other for dear life, but when her sobs fell to sniffs and her eyes dried she noticed that he was stroking her hair. It was a nice, calming, action that helped her regain her wits. When her breathing had calmed down to normal he gently pushed her away so he could look at her face.

He didn't say anything as he removed the tears that still lingered on her cheeks, but his face was serious, as if he was concentrating on an important task.

Afterwards he took her hand and lifted it for a gentle kiss. "Seeing as," he said as he met her gaze with an intense one of his own, that set her cheeks on fire, "you won't give me jewellery. Am I allowed to give you some?"

It took her a moment to find her voice. "What do you mean?" she asked timidly.

"Just this," he said as he pulled a silver band off his little finger and placed it on her thumb.

She stared at it for a moment, unable to comprehend what this meant. The band was quite simple. The backside showed a small shield with a dragon on it; the royal coat or arms. On the front was a small blue stone that glinted gently up at her.

"Show this, anywhere, and you'll receive the highest form of respect," he told her, as he showed her both sides of the ring. "It shows that you are the one closest to the king of Edoras."

"You can't give this to me," she whispered, "you should be giving this to your –"

"Future bride. That's what I've just done."

"But…"

"Wendy," he sighed, "is it so bad that I've decided on what I want and that that person is you?"

"Yes, no," she wanted to rip at her hair, "I want to say yes, I really do. But what can we do Gerard? I can't give you –" her eyes widened "-mmph!"

Something inside her mind crashed and she could suddenly feel exactly where they were connected. The warmth he emitted was like a burn that trailed over her skin, and it all seemed to connect in the chill that ran down her back and the clenching feeling in her chest. Her eyes closed and she felt her hands clench as they gripped his.

She barely felt the rush of air, or her back hitting the mattresses, but apparently her mate did for he quickly pulled back and cursed his own actions.

They both fought to regain their breaths and as she opened her eyes, Gerard placed his forehead on hers. "Wendy, _please_, stop fearing the future," he said, "I _will _find a way through this. There is always a way. Heck, I know for a fact that the first queen was also a dragon. And _she_ had a human child."

She stared up at his serious eyes for a moment. She should trust this man… this man whom she loved so dearly. "Okay," she whispered.

His serious expression split in a boyish grin. "Great," he said and tilted them once more so they were now both lying on their sides, his hands on her shoulders and their legs entangled.

He slowly moved his hands down her shoulders and entangled his fingers with hers. It was warm here, she noticed, closing her eyes. Warm and safe.

"Tired?"

"A little," she admitted.

"You should sleep."

"Don't want to," she pouted and had the pleasure of hearing him laugh.

"Well, princess," he said, "that is your decision."

There was a sound of an opening door and quick footsteps. "Oi!" the annoyed voice of Gajeel sounded. "We didn't leave you two alone so you could dishonour each other!"

Gerard rolled his eyes and helped the blushing Wendy to sit up. "We've done no such thing," he told the aid, "do you think I have so little respect for the woman I love?"

"Yes-yes, you love her, which has been obvious for a while," the dragon waved on, "but others would have read that position–! Oi, Jou-chan, don't act like you've seen a ghost, it doesn't make scolding you easy, ya'know."

But all sound had completely vanished from Wendy's ears as she slowly turned to the king. "You – you –"

Placing a hand on her head Gerard kissed her temple and mumbled quietly, "Of course I love you, Wendy."

"Geez, you're as bad as fire-breath," Gajeel complained.

"Go away, Gajeel," the king said. "I have more –"

"No. Please, I have something to discuss with the both of you," Wendy interrupted. "It's important."

The two men exchanged a look but both nodded and Gerard stepped away from the young dragon. "Remember the night we spent in the library?" Wendy asked Gajeel, "when I was researching reincarnation?"

"Yeah…"

"Remember that we talked about Acnolowgia?"

"What about him?"

"I'm pretty sure he has infiltrated the castle…"

"What? As a human?"

"Yes. Just before I fainted he … made himself known to me."

Gajeel cursed under his breath. "So he really _is_ after you."

"What are you two talking about?" Gerard snapped. "Has someone dangerous infiltrated the–"

"I'm sorry, Gerard," Wendy sighed, "This exchange must seem weird." With that she explained who and what Acnolowgia was and her theory on the reason it would show itself here.

"Do you think he could be the one who stole her energy?" Gerard asked Gajeel.

"It is a possibility," the metal dragon admitted, "Someone did try a trick like that with fire-breath and his line, but I doubt it would give the same result… and from someone so weak. It doesn't make sense."

"Should we ask Lord Natsu about this?" Wendy said.

"No. The idiot would just try to pick a fight," Gajeel sighed and shook his head. "He may seem cool, calm and collected, but that guy is as eager for a good fight as he has always been."

"So what do you suggest we do?" the king asked.

"We wait for the next move," Gajeel said. "No one will notice him unless he wants to be noticed so it's no use trying to get contact."

* * *

><p>Wendy spent most of the day in bed, waiting with many different people, for the day's preparations and for the king to allow her to get out of bed. She would have argued had she not known that she needed rest. Had it been an order from Gerard she would have argued but since he said it in that voice that told her he was acting as king she did not say anything.<p>

So it wasn't until the evening came that she was allowed to get into some proper clothes and move out of the room to join the rest for the Night of a Thousand Lights. She watched from the crowd as the king held his speech and cried with everyone else. For this was a night of recalling those who had passed before us. She thought of her mother… what would Grandine think if she saw her daughter in such a mess? The female sky dragon had always been so proud… Would she be disappointed? Or would she help her daughter through the complications that were still to come?

As she released her lantern into the air she sent a silent thoughts to the people she had met in her short life and thought of the long road that lay ahead. She knew now that she would not be able to live without the man that was standing on the podium and looking up at the sky after his own lantern. Was he thinking of his parents? He must have been.

_Mother… please help us_. With that she released her own lantern and watched it disappear among many others.

She stood there long after everyone else had gone back. People had not hesitated with moving on to the feast and the celebrating in the inns that were happening tonight. Even the nobles had left and the lanterns had disappeared.

"Only one day of the festival is left," Gerard said, as he came up from behind. "How do you like it so far?"

"It has been an amazing experience," she admitted and looked up at him. "But mostly I'm just thankful that everything between us is cleared up."

A smile graced his lips and he draped an arm over her shoulders to give her a one-armed hug. "Me too. Ready to give me that necklace yet?"

"No," she said, smiling sheepishly, "I'm sorry, I don't have the courage yet."

"It's okay. You'll find it eventually."

And with that he started leading her back towards the castle.

* * *

><p>And here we are... finally moving past the angst of their relationship. The point of no return has been reached and you will have to wait a few more chapters for the end.<p>

Thanks for your reviews

See you next week

- Pen


	10. Ring Ceremony

**Chapter 10; Ring Ceremony**

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><p>The last day of the midsummer festival was the reason it had been started in the first place. It was the day the people gathered to support their king as he reinforced the land with a pretty simple spell, actually.<p>

Gerard had only been nervous the first time; he'd been so terribly afraid that something would go wrong. But nothing had, and after that first time he had never been nervous again. So now he allowed his thoughts to wander to other, more pleasant things. Things that would be his first priority as soon as this day was over.

"So I take it you won't be coming with us home when this is over?" he heard Lucy say.

"But Lady Lucy," Wendy said, "home is where the heart is. How could I leave this place?"

He watched them pass the door and smiled when the blue-haired girl turned as if caught in a magnetic field. "Good-morning," she addressed him. "Will you be joining us for breakfast?"

"No, I'm sorry, Wendy," he said, "I have to fast until after the Ceremony tonight."

"Oh," she muttered.

"Wendy!" Lucy called after her.

She hesitated in the door and probably wanted nothing more than to join him and forget all about breakfast. "Get going," Gerard told her. "I'll see you later."

She nodded and was gone in a moment. He heard her apologize and Lucy complain about young love and all that.

He would have never guessed what had drawn him to the young woman, had she not explained it to him in that inn. At first he had truly thought that the calming waves her soul seemed to emit was all that pulled him to her and that it was his own greed for the most capable aid that forced him to ask for her assistance. Of course, he had seen how beautiful she was and he had enjoyed her character. She was always calm and polite, something he didn't see often, and the shy part of her personality really was kind of cute… but all that had changed…

He didn't know when, or rather, he wasn't sure. But as she had started to work for him over the first month, he had started to want her in more ways than one. The En'you had probably played a larger role in all this. She was his, he saw that now, and although she was still reluctant to take the last, final, steps he was sure there was a way. She was not supposed to be punished, there had to be a way or the gods would not have chosen him.

But where was he supposed to find such an answer? He sighed and stared down at the book he had been reading until a moment ago. None of these books spoke of dragons, and none of the dragons he knew seemed to know anything. How could his ancestor have accomplished something like this so… so important? Had he just taken the chance? Or had the child been born before the former king had become king? That way he would not have had so much pressure on his shoulders…

Something cold touched his cheek and he straightened immediately only to be met by concerned brown eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Wendy? Didn't you go to eat breakfast?"

Her brows furrowed. "Breakfast was three hours ago. Did you fall asleep?"

"I must have," he sighed and rubbed his temples. Her hand moved, as if automatically, for his forehead, but he gently grabbed it. "I'm fine," he insisted. "But thank-you, Wendy."

She knelt before him and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "What am I supposed to do with you?" she asked with a sigh, "are you going to be alright for tonight? No. Don't answer that."

A chuckle rippled through him and he leaned forward so he was hovering with mere inches from her face. "I won't then," he said. "Now, please, get up. You're way too tempting right now."

And with that he had the pleasure of watching her blush profusely. She rose quickly and stepped back, stuttering something even he didn't understand. Sometimes she was just too tempting to tease.

With a wave of his hand, another chair produced itself. "Have a seat," he offered. "Since I'm off the hook until tonight I could use some company."

"Don't you have to prepare?" she asked, still standing.

"There is nothing to prepare. The ceremony is very simple and the only thing it requires from anyone is the support of the king, everyone is relaxing today." With that he made another move with his hand and the chair moved forward, hit her knees and forced her to sit.

"Gerard!" she exclaimed outraged at his behaviour.

"Oh, come now," he laughed, "relax. Why so serious?"

She huffed and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "It's my _job_ to worry about you, remember? That's why you wanted me here in the first place wasn't it?"

He considered it for a moment. "That's a definite 'no'," he told her, "the reason why I brought you here was because of that curious way your soul was pulsing whenever near me… of course, now I know it's because you really can't do without me."

And with that he once again had the pleasure of watching her blush. Slowly he worked her past her serious demeanour and they lashed into more relaxed conversation. Until Coco, as happy and energetic as ever, came into the library in search for her king to tell him that the ceremony was ready.

Outside the sun was setting and people were standing in the courtyard. He could see that they had gathered out on the streets as well, and he knew that in every town all through the country the same sight would be seen.

This was where it all started.

Raising himself on a small energy disc of golden energy he overlooked his people. Immediately his eyes met brown ones and he smiled. It was so easy to find her in a crowd. "My dear people! Another year has passed and it is once again time to strengthen our country," as he spoke he raised his hands towards the disc. "With this our land will prosper once more."

With that he summoned the blue energy that was that of the King, the Emperor of Edoras. He watched as thousands of white lights floated from the people and towards him, how they came from all directions with the speed of light, over the walls of the Holy City and how they gathered with the blue magic to enhance the power. This was the power his people had bestowed him.

And as he watched that magic move up and hit the rings, watched them light up the sky for a moment, something off happened. Something that wasn't supposed to happen. A small beam of energy shot back towards the gaping crowd… and hit Wendy.

The young dragon suddenly lit up with the blue magic and flew into the sky. Towards Gerard. When she came closer he noticed how her eyes were wide open and glowing with a bright light.

Slowly he reached out for her, but she was floating in the air, a few feet from him. Out of his reach. Her hair was moving without wind and it didn't seem like she was present. "Wendy?"

"_I am sorry to have taken the body of your beloved, dear child,_" a weird voice sounded. It was a mix of Wendy's and that of an elderly woman. "_But it seems that I have some fears to clean up for you to move on._"

"Who are you?"

"_I am the first queen, here on request from Grandine Marvell, mother of Wendy Marvell_," she spoke. "_Now please. I do not have long before the gods will call me back. _

"_There are two races who are both blessed and cursed by the gods. Well, three if you count the humans as well. The kings and emperors of our realm are not humans. They have far more magic than normal humans would have, and their character is always noble. They will suffer anything for the sake of their people. And then there are dragons, whom I will not go in detail with. Wendy knows enough, you can ask her. Like me, her mate is a king. It is not often seen, but very natural in your father's line, even before that line became kings._

"_And like me, she is weak."_

"What does that mean?"

"_It means that she does not live the life of a normal dragon. Her magic is weaker than yours, even though dragons are usually the most powerful. She only lives a life of half dragon length. Which means that she will only live another four-hundred years. And most important__ly__. She will only have human children."_

Gerard was speechless. Could they really be so lucky? Was it really that simple? So easy? To think that the gods had gladly given them a happy existence… for his lifetime at least. And even then… she would only be suffering for a few hundred years. "Thank you."

"_You two should have just taken the chance,_" she said, smiling sadly, "_That was what we did. What we had to do._"

"I'm sorry we had to rely on you."

"_Can't have you suffering more than needed,_" she winked. "_And it seems we are out of time. Remember to catch her. And when you do… hold on to her no matter what."_

"Of course," he told her. "No matter what."

"_Remember, child of mine, there is no such thing as coincidence. In this world there is only the inevitable."_

With that the blue light around the young dragon's body returned to the rings and fell. A collective gasp sounded from the crowd as the king dived and caught her, easily. He slowed the disc and landed safely on the ground, holding the blue-haired woman tightly in his arms.

"Is she okay?" Lucy asked, as she pushed through the crowd towards the King. "What happened up there? Why did it attack her?"

"Lady Lucy," Charle snapped. "Remember your position."

The duchess stopped immediately. "I'm sorry. I'm just worried."

"There is no need to worry," the King assured her. "And nothing attacked her. She was, though, for a short while possessed by the first queen."

"What did she want?" Gajeel asked, seemingly surprised.

"To tell me something important."

And that was all he was telling them. He wasn't sure if Wendy, herself, had been told, and if so he was determined to tell her as the first. He quickly detached himself from the questioners and walked back into the castle and all the way up to the royal storey where he opened the door to his quarters and placed her on his bed.

On the outside he was making sure to keep an indifferent expression to avoid both Lucy and Gajeel, but on the inside he was so happy it was hard to keep it in. Nothing else was in the way of making her completely his now, he had realized. The problem with an heir had been solved and an engagement could be arranged, practically as soon as she woke.

He stood over her for a moment, watching her breathe, and suddenly felt the need to laugh as he remembered a story his mother had told him. About a prince waking a princess from her sleep by kissing her lips. But he was no prince and she was no princess, and she was not under a curse that would force her to sleep for hundred years.

Plopping down on the bed he let the laughter loose for a moment.

"Gerard?"

He quieted immediately and turned back to greet her with a gentle smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Groggy, what happened? Why were you laughing?"

He gently moved down and caught her in a lingering kiss. Hovering mere inches over her face as he told her, "I'm just so very happy right now. So happy it's overflowing."

Her hand moved up to gently touch his cheek. "Why? What happened?"

"Grandine sent a little messenger to tell me that you, like the first queen, can only have human children," he explained. "She possessed your body, the first did, that's why you fainted."

Wendy frowned for a moment, and then seemed to realize. And when she did her eyes filled with tears and she whispered a "really?"

"Yes. There are no barriers left now," Gerard said as he kissed away her tears. "Now please stop crying."

"I'll try," she said as a smile spread across her lips. "But you'll have to help me." With that she reached up, grabbed his shirt and pulled him down in a kiss. An extreme wave of desire ran through his body and before he knew what he was doing one of his hands was playing with the strings holding her dress together, one of his hands having run down her waist and over to her back. But as soon as he realized what he was doing he drew back and sat up.

"Sorry," he sighed, "I shouldn't have…"

Rolling over on her side, she watched him. "No. You shouldn't. But I shouldn't either. There are better times… but…" She wanted this, he realized, but she couldn't say it without dishonouring herself.

Turning back to her, he took her hand and removed the royal insignia from her thumb turned it over in his hands so it became smaller. With that he gently kissed her hand and looked her straight in the eye. "Will you marry me? Become my queen?"

Her whole face lit up and she beamed at him. "Of course."

His face lit up and he placed the insignia on another of her fingers. But he did not let go of her hand, instead he pulled her to an upright position and caught her lips once more.

As the moon disappeared between the dark clouds, the two did not notice the omen that showed in the night sky. For an ancient dance was taking place in the royal chambers hidden behind locked doors, and hiding spells to protect both parties until everything became official.

* * *

><p>And the answers came oh-so easily xD aren't you happy?<p>

hope you liked it.

See you next week

- Pen


	11. Completion

Chapter 11; Completion

As the sun moved up past the horizon the young dragon was the first to wake. She stirred easily and wondered for a moment where she was, until she opened her eyes and was met with the sight of a muscular chest and the sound of another person breathing very close to her.

Flashes of memories came back to her and a smile graced her lips. Whispers of words filled with love and adoration also reached her and she snuggled closer. His arms seemed to automatically tighten around her waist.

His other hand moved slightly down her naked back and she – _wait, naked?_

Exclaiming a small surprised sound she jumped back and pulled one of the crumpled blankets around her. Her eyes fell on the man that lay before her and she felt her embarrassment fall away just as soon as her gaze fell on his face. His azure-blue bangs fell over his eyes and he was slumbering soundly. Her cheeks heated and her embarrassment returned as her eyes travelled slowly down to his well-muscled and very exposed chest. A blanket covered him from the waist and down and she turned back to his face.

She moved her hand to his face, but hesitated only inches from his hair. Could she move it? Was she allowed to?

His hand shut up like a snake that had waited for an opportunity to attack. Holding it there she watched as his green eyes opened and how he turned her hand to look at it. The black gold glinted in the sunlight and the blue stone turned completely white.

"It's lacrima, isn't it?" she whispered.

A lazy smile spread across his face and he turned her hand to kiss it gently. "We just spent a passionate night together, dishonouring each other, and the first thing you say is that?" he asked.

Her face turned bright red and she opened and closed her mouth several times not sure what to say. "Relax, Wendy-mine," Gerard said as he kissed her hand once more, "we have nothing to worry about from now on."

His hand tightened around her one and pulled her down. His arms moved around her and held her a little tighter. "The first even told me that you won't be living for more than five hundred years," he whispered.

"What? But dragons –"

"You're weak, you said so yourself," he reminded her. "Apparently this is why we've met so early, or so I assume."

Her hands clenched to fists and she pressed her forehead against his chest. "This is too good to be true."

"I believe the gods do not want to punish you more than necessary," Gerard admitted as his hands moved down her arms. "They must have realized their mistake after having created the dragons. Now, please, Wendy, neither of us should worry anymore. These are days of celebration."

She inhaled deeply and lifted her face so she could see his eyes. "You're right," she whispered and pecked his lips. "And I have something to give you."

For a moment his expression was one of confusion, but then it lit up and he helped her sit. "Put on some clothes, go and grab it, and we'll have an early, _private_, breakfast."

"Okay," she said as she let a happy grin cross her lips. She was no longer afraid.

She quickly dressed in the clothes she had been wearing the night before; a simple blue skirt with a white shirt with long sleeves and light blue lace by the hems. She didn't bother with the stockings or the shoes and hurried, barefoot to her room, where she easily found the en'you.

"It seems I am too late," a male voice sounded from behind her and she spun to see a dark shape standing in the door. A malevolent presence hit her and she immediately knew it was a dragon.

"Who are you?"

"You'll know soon enough," the shape said and lifted his gloved hand. From it a black barrier expanded and her mind was quickly lost to a sea of darkness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

For a long time she was floating in that darkness. It wasn't really unpleasant but something was itching at the back of her mind. Something she should know… More than one thing. Some chance she had missed, some danger right ahead. But then again… maybe it was alright to let the blackness take her… for now, for she knew she would wake.

And when she did she knew immediately where she was. All dragons did. It wasn't that some presence told them… it was more along the lines of an ancient memory that seemed to just jump to life and dance around in front of your eyes.

Tenrou Island was an ancient place known as the birth place of the first dragons, the island that inhabited fairies and the one place where human magic did not work. Only the magic of the races worked here. This helped to protect the races that were usually few in the rest of the world due to the hunting and high prices on their heads.

"What have you done?" an ancient voice hissed. "With this you will force your brethren to act. It will create a void in the magical races!"

"I have done what is necessary." That was a voice she recognized. "She is weak; she is not safe with humans!"

"And you really think she would be treated badly in a kingdom where her mate – _her mate_ – is the _king_," the ancient voice had risen.

"I saw enough to see that an assassination had been plotted. Many royal families had expected to seduce that man for the sake of their own power." There was a rush of clothes. "Call me when she wakes."

As footsteps faded the ancient voice addressed her. "You can open your eyes now," the ancient voice said, but as she spoke it turned much younger and when Wendy opened her eyes it was to meet the bright green ones, that seemed so full of life and magic that they seemed to shine, and a young face framed by completely white hair. On the top of her head two wing-decorations were placed and she was wearing a light green dress, with no shoes.

"You're…" Wendy hesitated but a name came to mind "Mavis… right?"

"I see that a healing dragon is much more in touch with these grounds than most others," the girl commented, "but yes. I am the Ancient. The one that keeps us all alive."

Wendy studied her surroundings for a moment. They were in a smaller room made of stone walls, ceilings, and floors. She was sitting on a single bed and the Lady was sitting on a small chair beside her. The windows to her other side was covered with heavy dark red curtains and no light was present except from a small torch.

"You mean non-humans?"

"Yes. But always remember than we are more than non-humans," she corrected the dragon, "we are dragons and fairies, nymphs and sprits, dwarves and many others."

"Of course."

"How are you feeling?"

"Alright…why?"

"You've been intimate with your mate not more than a day prior," the fairy's eyes twinkled in mischief, "any muscle aches?"

Wendy's cheeks heated, but she shook her head and Mavis giggled. "Another good thing about being a healing dragon. The magic works in your own body without you knowing. Unfortunately… most are so weak. How is your magic?"

"It's fine… why?"

A frown crossed the girl's face. "Because… if you do not bond with him soon … it will all but disappear."

The world swirled for a moment and she had to lie back down. "Why?" she whispered.

"Because you told him about it without giving it to him," Mavis answered in a stern voice. "I know you've been afraid of this, Wendy. And I understand your concern, but now we need to convince that guy to let this go."

"But… you're the Lady," Wendy protested as she sat up again, incredulous. "Can't you just–"

"He's a dragon of destruction. It doesn't work that easily."

"So what do I do?"

The door opened and closed and both women looked up to see the dark man who had kidnapped Wendy walk in. It was the first time she got a good look at him. Long black hair was tied back in a low ponytail, dark-purple sunken eyes, sharp jaw and very white skin. His black clothes were ragged, but he held a pride unlike anything she had ever seen before.

"There is nothing you _can _do, Ms. Marvell," he said in his deep voice. "I'm determined to force you to stay here. Which is also why I need your en'you."

"What?" both women exclaimed.

Wendy's hands immediately found her tie to Gerard and squeezed her hands around it, but Mavis reacted more violently. She rose so fast her chair tipped over and seemed to age several years in a few seconds. Her hair flew wildly around her and as she spoke her voice grew sinister. "I have tolerated a great deal from you, Acnolowgia, but this-!"

A sudden flash of light blinded all and Wendy felt pain run through her body. It was much greater than when Gajeel had touched the en'you. Her sight blackened and panic drowsed her thought process. What was happening to her?

"_Wendy?"_

…_Gerard?_

"_Where are you? What happened?" _he was panicked, in a hurry, worried. How had they established contact? "_What's happening? Wendy! Your soul is growing extremely weak at this moment! Whatever you're doing __**stop**__it!"_

…_I can't… I don't know._

"_Tell me where you are and I'll come get you!"_

_No!_ but her brain reacted on its own. _… Tenrou … island_.

"Wendy! Wake up! You have to-!"

"It's already too late," the dark voice said, his tone was laughing. "She has cut off her power-source by returning the en'you to her soul."

…so that was how she was able to move… But her head was so heavy. All her limbs were… she couldn't even open her eyes…

"So that was your plan all along! How do you expect her to live like this?"

"She'll grow stronger without her powers. Slowly. And she'll still live a full life of a dragon."

No… she didn't want that. Gerard! She had to get back to Gerard. She had to give him the – _no. _If he came here… if he came here Acnolowgia would… would. She felt her eyes water. If she was lucky he would never find… but he had Natsu and Gajeel and they'd know where it was, like everyone else.

"Out! Out! You've done enough for one night!"

The door slammed and Wendy immediately felt cold hands on her face. "I'm so sorry, child," Mavis whispered. "He's too powerful for me to control. All I can do is give you extra energy so you can sit up."

Cold filled her bones for a moment and something inside her pulsed before it died once more. Was that her soul? Or her magic? Right now… it was as if she was dead. Without the en'you… without Gerard… she had never thought that she would actually come to want that connection so much.

"The only one that can save the two of you now is your mate," Mavis told her as Wendy was once again able to open her arms.

"The two of us?" Wendy whispered as the Lady helped her sit.

"You're pregnant, Wendy."

Once again the world seemed to fade for a moment, but when she was once again able to see the first thing that happened was a surge of happiness ran through her and something inside her pulsed once more. Was that… no. It was not the dragon… but it was not her child either. "What will he do to it?"

She had something to fight for now. She really had. She would make sure this child survived. It was the heir to Edoras. It was the continuation of a people, already tied to it. She would not let Acnolowgia lay a finger on it.

A smile spread across Mavis's face. "Nothing if I have anything to say about it. And it seems your mate is already on his way."

"So how do we do this?"

"Either we let those two dragons kill him or talk him out of it," Mavis shrugged. "It's about time he moved on. He has lived for far too long…"

Looking down at the royal insignia Wendy sighed. "I want to get home as soon as possible," she said. "For once I cannot care about the life and worries of others. He has already removed that part of me."

A smile crossed the Lady's lips. "So the human is more ruthless than the dragon?"

"No," Wendy said as she met the woman's eyes. "Just more determined to stay alive."


	12. Capture

**Chapter 12; Capture**

* * *

><p>Mavis advised her to get some sleep and it was quite easy for her to do so. She slept soundlessly for a long time with no dreams, no nightmares. Just… blackness, peaceful and reviving. In a way she almost wished she had dreamt for when she woke her mind was too drowsy to understand what had woken her.<p>

Something blue was lighting up the room and it took her a few moments to realize what was happening. When she did, and her vision cleared, she almost leapt from the bed. "Gerard?" of course, she couldn't. She could only sit up with Mavis's help.

The ring he had given her, the lacrima, was the reason why they still had a connection. It seemed to help him get through to her.

"Wendy," he sighed as he moved closer. He was only a blue silhouette, quite ghostly, but his voice rang clearly though and it soothed her in many ways. "Who did this to you?"

His hand moved over to cup her cheek but sank through and he sighed. "I hate this," he muttered, but shook his head and kneeled beside her. "Tell me what happened. I need to know as much as possible, though it seems quite clear that Natsu is pretty close…"

"He did speak of me losing my powers, didn't he?" That must have been why she fainted too… She quickly went through what had happened, but did not mention her pregnancy. She wanted this to go well and he didn't need the extra worries. And really, she just wanted to surprise him in more happy settings.

"So he noticed Ultear's movements as well," Gerard sighed. "Oh well. We'll get you out of there. Natsu is currently trying to convince his mate to let him go. He won't be able to if she doesn't allow it. It'll hamper him, and they won't be able to kill Acnolowgia without him."

"What about you?" she whispered. "You'll be coming right?"

"Yes," a gentle smile crossed his face. "How can't I? Besides, someone has to focus on getting you out of there while others fight the threat, and I won't be of much help…"

"Sorry. You said these were happy times…"

"They will be again," he said, his eyes darkening. "Once I get you back you're never leaving my sight again."

A giggle forced its way through her lips. "Come soon," she whispered.

"I will. You have nothing to worry about."

And with that the connection faded.

* * *

><p>He was angry. He had never been this angry in his life before, and he knew exactly where it came from. It was a possessiveness he had never before thought possible. The need to protect what was his no matter the cost. How <em>dared<em> anyone hurt her like that? To compromise a part of someone's soul… to force her through that hurt. And he had seen it happen… yet he could do nothing.

That was the worst part of it. To want to protect someone so badly and still be unable to do anything. She had put her complete trust in him and he had failed her. It would not happen again even if he had to learn Dragon Slayer magic to make sure of it.

"Your majesty?" Coco timidly asked as she trailed after him. No one had ever seen the king act like this. "Are you okay?"

"No, I am not, Coco," he said, forcing himself to calm down as he rounded a corner and turned sharply to knock on a door. He could see the golden soul pulsing inside the nursery.

"What do you want?" Lucy muttered as she opened the door, blinking at the light.

"I need to speak with you."

"I've already said no, I'm not risking his life for–"

"Do you _really _think she's safe there?" he snapped as he walked past her and into the nursery. Resha was sleeping soundly in the crib; her mother had probably just finished tending to her. "I've just been in contact with her and let me tell you; she is _not_ okay."

A look of worry filled her eyes and she closed the door to the hallway. "Elaborate, please."

As he told her what he had experienced during the two times he had been able to establish contact with the young dragon, Lady Lucy's face slowly filled with horror. As soon as he finished she spun on her heal, opened the door to their bedroom and closed it behind her.

A few moments later there was a yell of "_What?"_ and Natsu came storming into the nursery. "So I was right?"

The king nodded. "And it seems the process has been forced to speeded up by what she did," the older dragon continued. "Lucy, we have to go get her."

"I know," the former princess said. "That's why I woke you."

"Get ready," Gerard said. "We're leaving at dawn."

* * *

><p>Wendy was woken late the next morning by Mavis who had somehow conjured up a chair with wheels so Wendy could be transported out of her room without having to walk. Apparently she would have to eat breakfast downstairs with everyone else.<p>

"I know you spoke to Gerard at some point during the night," the Lady said. "Will you be alright?"

"Yes."

"Alright," she said as she levitated the girl into the chair. "I'll tell you then. They're on their way. They left at dawn. The flight will take a few hours."

"Really?"

"Yes. And that is all for now," she said as she manoeuvred the chair out of the small room.

With that Mavis turned to happier small-talk as she took her about a castle so different to what Wendy had seen of castles before. The design was the same as always with the grey brick walls and the dark doors, the big windows and the extravagant decorations. But the difference lay in the fact that half of the castle seemed to be missing, it was as if someone had reached out and grabbed some of the castle, as if it had just been swallowed into a dimensional hole and the scar left behind showed an exact circle.

Even the dining hall was cut in half and the hole seemed to go even into the ground from there. In the darkness by the bottom she could see the highest level of the dungeons, but she was sure that there was farther down.

As they ate she met several other magical beings and spoke with many of them. More than one had been offered to come here by none other than Mavis herself and she seemed more like a mother to them than anything else. Even what she heard about Acnolowgia seemed to tell her that even he had been rescued. From what she could not tell, but she had decided yesterday that she would not be one of them, and… it seemed that Mavis agreed that she was not one to be rescued.

She did not see said dragon all day and wondered many times what he could be doing. Of course she tried not to think of it too much. All her problems were because of that man and with the life growing in her stomach she had to prioritize. Especially since the development had been paused, according to Mavis. And she wanted this child more than anything. Well… just as much as she wanted to be back with her mate.

She knew he blamed himself for what happened and that he was extremely angry with her situation. Even without the bond she could tell. How? She did not know. Gerard was, for many people, hard to read, and she was by no way an expert. But it was as if she knew him, as if she had seen the patterns many times before, only she hadn't. It was obvious to Wendy that this was knowledge from past lives… unfortunately all these realizations did not help her much.

On the other hand it was important for her to know that she had been slowly crumbling, that she had needed something solid to lean against. She hadn't even realized that her view on him had changed… but now… she wouldn't say that she couldn't live without him, for she could. All dragons could. And she wasn't dependant on him to live her life. Life was just… so much brighter beside him.

A shadow passed over her and her eyes immediately turned upwards. As she did the sky seemed to erupt and in a second Mavis was at her side, levitating her out of the chair. "We have to get you out of the battle," the Lady said. "I'll take you to the -!"

Another explosion and the air pressure threw both women off their feet. Or rather… it threw Mavis off her feet and she lost her concentration.

Immediately Wendy lost all the energy she had received from the Lady and realized that she had been knocked out. Her sight blackened for a moment and her muscles felt heavy. What could she do now?

"Wendy!"

Gerard?

A cold hand grabbed hers and she was pulled into the air by strong arms. Mavis…

"I know," he whispered, and she felt him walk.

For a moment she allowed herself to relax, as soon as she had come into contact with her mate some of her sight had returned. Far up in the sky she could see a lightshow of magic and she knew the fight was moving on gradually.

"Dammit…" she heard Mavis curse. "He stole some of my energy. What kind of protector have I become?"

"Hopefully you won't have to worry about him anymore in a few hours, your holiness," Gerard said. "Now please. Help me… I know, you know what to do."

"Of course I do," she snapped and then added as an after-thought. "Sorry."

"It's okay."

"This will be a painful process…" she warned him.

"On who?"

"Wendy. But it has to be done now."

The young dragon decided not to concentrate too much on what was said from there. She already knew what Gerard had to do. He would have to call forth the en'you, because she couldn't. He would have to do the bonding ceremony, because she couldn't.

His forehead met hers and Wendy felt his conscious merge with hers. And they were back in that misty land that was the bridge between their minds and souls.

There was no manifestation of the young dragon this time, he noticed. "Wendy?" He asked as he spun in the air. He should have known that there would be no way –

"Yes?" a small ball of light hovered not too far from him and he sighed in relief. So this was her human part.

"Ready?"

"Whenever you are."

_Good_. With that he concentrated his mind and focused on the part of her that was the dragon. Where was it? Something pulsed above him and his eyes followed the sensation.

The mist floated gently everywhere and it was hard to see anything, but as he moved closer he could sense her more clearly, and finally he passed the mist and came to an open blue sky. Here he found her soul, hovering in the air, in her human form.

She looked like she was sleeping, curled up with her long hair flowing in an un-existing wind.

The ball of light had disappeared; this was probably the domain that belonged to the dragon, although Gerard was sure that these two were not usually parted.

She suddenly felt afraid, when she watched him reach out for her dragon part. She knew, just as well as he did, that this was what had to be done, that he had to reach her. As his hand came closer to her shoulder something flashed in her mind and she was pulled away from the scene.

"_What are you doing here?"_

"_You have to get out of the town," he told her. "It's no longer safe here."_

_This was the third time. She couldn't keep listening to him. "Why? Why do you keep coming back and __ordering__ me around? I __managed__ to create a life for myself whenever you move me and then you come and –"_

_He kneeled before her so they were now facing each other. The cold stone was scraping against her knees and the rain was rendering her drenched to the bone, but she could care less about that. She just had to set him straight this time…_

All their lives, all their experiences came rushing back to her, one after another. All that time… she really hadn't stood a chance. She had belonged to him from the very dawn of time. And there were so many lives… how many would come? Would she remember all her lives all the time or would it only be at times like this, when it was her body, her magic that made her remember?

_He was standing alone, again, on that cliff. She almost didn't dare walk up to him… she had betrayed him after all. So many years ago. But he was stubborn and unforgiving, no matter what his heart and soul said, and she was the one who had cursed him with this burden. But… she had done what she deemed best._

"_Go away, Mavis."_

"_Won't you leave those two alone?"_

"_No. She is far too young and far too weak to understand what is happening."_

"_You have not seen her soul, Zeref. I have never seen anything so old before."_

"_That may be, but she cannot remember her pasts…"_

A spark ignited in her mind and she was suddenly staring at the soul of her mate. He was smiling down at her. "I finally reached you."

She was sure she had never smiled so brightly before. "Thank you."

"Come."

"Okay."

With that he pulled her out of the darkness and into what usually her soul room.

* * *

><p>Well. I'm finally back.<p>

Or… somehow. Updates, although already written, will come when they come. I'm almost done with school and I want to finish properly. Well…. Uh… the teachers aren't giving us much of a choice, so it's nothing I can decide.

Thank you for following this story. We're almost at the end.

Oh, and if you want quicker updates from me from now on I'll be adding a link to a group on yahoo where I will adding the chapters when they are written. All are welcome to join.

- Pen


	13. Ghosts

**Chapter 13; ghosts**

* * *

><p>As Gerard pulled away from his hold on Wendy the en'you materialized between them and gently landed in his hands. A wave of calm immediately spread through him and he suddenly knew exactly what to do to finish the mating ritual.<p>

"Gerard?" the young dragon muttered drowsily as she woke. Supporting herself she sat up. As soon as she saw what he was holding a smile spread across her face. "Ready?"

"Whenever you are."

For a moment she rested her hand on the en'you before lifting them and showing a small orb of white light. Holding onto that she reached out and gently touched his chest, where she could feel his heart beating against her hand. From there she produced another ball of light, this one being of a golden colour.

Merging them she created a small blue ball of light. "Seems you've inherited quite a lot from your ancestor," she muttered, but did not elaborate as she separated this into two new orbs. One was placed in her own chest and the other was merged with his own chest.

The first thing he noticed was that someone was humming. It wasn't an exact sound, but more an emotion… it was hard to explain. The next thing that happened was that all his wounds, be it small things from sword practice to scars from larger battles were healed. The last thing he was aware of was that something was –

"You're pregnant?" he whispered.

"Yes. But we have to talk of it later, sorry" she answered gently as she placed the en'you around his neck before rising completely and turning on Mavis. "You're his mate, right?"

"I see you picked up on it," the fairy sighed. "I was his mate, yes. Before we both died."

"How are you still able to be as living?" she asked, glancing at Gerard. This was not how this was supposed to go. A human was always tired after a bonding and she wasn't sure how much her healing was able to keep him awake.

"I don't know how he does it," Mavis said, "but those with enough magical power can - even in death - decide not to move on. I'm not leaving him. Not after what I've done."

"What did you do?" Gerard asked as he rose, with some complications.

Wendy was at his side immediately, supporting him.

"I took my responsibility to protect this place higher than anything," Mavis said, "and I sacrificed him in the process. That is all I can tell you."

There was an explosion in the distance and something collided with the ground, only a few feet from them. In a second the girl had disappeared into the cloud of dust, and as she did so Natsu and Gajeel appeared in their human forms, beside Wendy and Gerard.

"About time," Natsu said. "But you really have to get out of here."

"We can't. They're both immortal."

"What?" both male dragons exclaimed.

"You can't!" Mavis exclaimed as the dust-cloud vanished. She was sitting beside Acnolowgia with a hand on his chest. Tears were running down her cheeks, and she seemed to be doing her best to hold him down.

"Get off me!"

"No, Zeref!"

His eyes widened and he finally met hers. "What?"

"I'm not getting off you. You've lost! Please! Please just let everything go!" The ancient seemed completely hypnotized by the small girl. "I'm not sure how many more decades I can stand of this!"

"Then why haven't you just moved on?" he snapped. "You don't care –"

"Of course, I care!"

"Then why –"

"Because I had no other choice! You were too far away! If I had expanded the shields everyone would have died," she buried her face in his chest, clenching her fists in his shirt.

A hand touched Wendy's shoulder and she looked up to see Gerard. She had been so spellbound by the scene that she hadn't noticed that Gajeel and Natsu were pulling back. She glanced back at the two, one last time, noticing that he was holding her now.

To think that so little could trigger so much, and to think that neither had done anything to change their gloomy existence for so many years. How could anyone live like that?

A ship was waiting for them twenty miles from the coast of Tenrou Island and as they flew towards it there was a weird sound behind them. When Wendy turned back to look at the island it had completely disappeared. Had it only been a manifestation of their existence?

"_So many questions were left unanswered on that island," _she thought to Gerard.

"_We cannot know everything about everything that happens_," he told her, "_there is nothing you can do but rejoice that they have found peace. And make sure to keep me awake until we get home."_

"_Why?_"

"_Because I refuse to succumb to this sleepiness that seems to have invaded my mind."_

"_It's quite normal, all the extra magic that is suddenly running through your veins will render you tired for a few days."_

"_Damn. Good thing you're not as strong as normal dragons."_

* * *

><p>The first thing Gerard did when he got home was fall over on his bed and sleep soundly for the next two days. Wendy had to remove his boots and most of his clothing and place him in a proper position, but when she tried to leave him to sleep his hand caught her wrist and he mumbled something unintelligently. So she ended up crawling under his covers and snuggling up to him instead.<p>

When he finally woke she was lying beside him, still in the dress she had been wearing on the day of the ring ceremony, with a book in her hands.

"Good morning," he said as he reached over and closed the book and removed it from her hands.

She giggled as she turned to face him. "It's noon," she corrected. Her brown eyes gentled as she met his. "How are you feeling?"

"Great," he said and pulled her to him.

The first thing he did when he was finally up and back to normal was announce his engagement. This, of course, created much uproar. She was not of noble blood and she was a dragon. How would this ever work out for the best of the people, how could they ever respect -? But here his answer was simple; "I am sure she has saved the life of someone you know. If you can respect her for that, then you can respect her as your queen." Some were still protesting after this and he noticed that these were also the ones planning attacks on Wendy.

So the second thing he did after he got back to normal was send a good few people on extended and paid vacation to different places in the world – where they would be asked to stay as they were not allowed to come back. No one was to hurt what was his, after all.

Months passed then and the wedding was set to an early winter-morning. It wasn't as cold as Fiore would have been during this time of the year and she did not experience snow, as she would have had she been there. It was a happy day, the day she officially moved into his quarters as well. They had, of course, spent some nights together as the bonding forced them to be dependant of each other, but she spent most of her nights in her own bed. Now that was over.

A month later she was crowned queen at just as an extravagant ceremony. She was starting to show by then and she had never felt as happy as she did at that point.

No, the birth did not count. It was a very painful thing to go through, and she had started to have nightmares that she would give birth to an egg, or that she would die then, like human women. It rendered her sleepless and so it rendered Gerard sleepless, but he was patient as always and held her until she fell asleep, either again or in the evening. So it was a relief to the both of them when the child finally came.

The old lady who had been there overseeing the birth gently washed and clothed the screaming child before she placed him in his father's arms. The king sat beside his wife on the bed, his eyes wide in amazement. As soon as the child had been placed in his father's hands he had calmed and was looking up at him with curious brown eyes.

"Can I hold him," she asked in a tired, hoarse voice as she reached out with shaking hands.

"Of course," the king said, as he placed the child in Wendy's arms. "He's your son."

As his arm snaked around her, he pulled her closer and kissed her temple. "It's curious," he commented, "babies are usually born with blue eyes."

"Seems he has a bit of dragon in him, then," she muttered and moved a lock of azure-blue hair away from the child's eyes. The baby yawned.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm tired, aching all over," she said and turned to meet his eyes with a tired but radiant smile, "but I feel so happy right now."

"Good," he said as he kissed her temple again. "I think you both need some sleep. No. All three of us."

"Remember, you have to announce that we have an heir."

He chuckled as he took the child out of his wife's hands. Her eyes were already closing. "Those old geezers can wait," he said, as he used the hand he wasn't holding his son with to lower her properly to the mattress.

He studied her there for a moment. Long dark-blue hair was framing her exhausted face and her skin seemed paler than it had in a while. But she slept soundly, and there were no more nightmares, it seemed. _Good._

She had taken the responsibilities as queen very easily. She was not a traditional queen and still had trouble with the people at court. But they treated her well and courteously so she should soon get over the rest of her shyness. She would have to be off soon, for she had to keep her promise to Natsu and Lucy, no matter how much he disapproved of her going out alone he still preferred that no one should experience what Mavis and Acnolowgia had experienced. Losing someone you had bonded to too early could prove a giant problem.

He gently placed his son in the crib, prepared for him, and turned to the doors. From there he quickly moved through the halls to the throne room and announced the happy news. It took him a good hour to get back and away from the congratulating nobles.

So when he finally got back to his wife he was happy that he could just lie down and hold her once more.

"Have you decided on a name?" she mumbled, rubbing one of her eyes.

"Tenrou."

"That's a weird name," she muttered.

"No. I think it fits just fine," he chuckled and pulled her closer. "Sleep, Wendy."

"Yes, sir," she pouted.

"You're tired, are you not?" Gerard chuckled.

"Who wouldn't be after what I went through?"

He just laughed at her and kissed her forehead and whispered "good night."

"Sweet dreams."

Life was good. And it would remain so for many years to come. No one seemed to question that the queen never aged over the age of thirty or that the king lived fifty years longer than normal. Of course, he retired early to let his son take over.

When King Gerard II of Edoras died no one noticed the young woman who did not leave the grave when the funeral was over. Her mourning continued for seven days, and there she stood for all the days, completely still. Except from the tears running in constant streams down her cheeks.

* * *

><p>Well. That's the last chapter in this story. I hope you enjoyed their journey it has been one of the most enjoyable to tell about. Of course, I've had some help in my beta who hasn't just been taking care of my grammar (and my bugging, asking, when she's done) and my ramblings when I've been stuck.<p>

I wrote this because I really like the pairing and because I thought these two needed more love – and I wanted to write of another tale in this little world of mine. There will be another, which I think I've already said, but it won't be a long series. Just a loooong oneshot. Anyway back to the Mysdy love. That's the reason I wrote this and I'm glad I did :) !

Thank you all for reading. It has truly been amazing to share this with you. I hope you enjoyed it too. There will be an epilogue, of course.

See you next week!

- Pen


	14. Epilogue

**Epilogue; An Infinite Number of Futures**

* * *

><p>The halls were bustling with the activity of a thousand students. Lunch-break was always the worst part of the day, well, maybe except from the mornings. The crowd was so thick at both times that it was foolish to even think about getting anywhere in time.<p>

An arm draped around his shoulder and he turned slightly to see his younger brother leaning over him. "Well, Gerard, ready to fight?"

"Not really," the oldest twin muttered darkly. "It's way too crowded."

"Oh, come on, we both need lunch," Jellal Fernandes said.

"Well, it's not my fault we don't have anything from home," Gerard said, a teasing grin spread across his face, "you were the one on –"

"Move it," a dark female voice ordered and the two teenagers were ripped apart by an angry, terrifying redhead. "You're standing in the door."

With that Erza Scarlett disappeared into the crowd and Gerard watched his brother's eyes follow her like a magnet. "Yeah," he muttered drily to his younger twin, "she so wants you."

"Of course, she does," Jellal grinned. "She just doesn't know it yet."

A barking laughter sounded, and a tall blonde was suddenly standing beside him. "At least one of you understands sarcasm."

"Go to hell, Laxus," Jellal muttered. "See you later, bro."

There was a crash in the back of the classroom, and the blonde snickered to the blue-haired young man. "Seems like Natsu finally woke up…"

"Laxus! Fight me!"

"See you," the blonde muttered as he too slipped through the crowd.

The pink haired boy sprinted after the blonde yelling about rematches and getting stronger and something about… being just a kid last time, although it had only been the week before.

Nothing ever changes, Gerard mused. But then his stomach growled and he considered the crowd for a moment. It had gotten a little thinner… maybe.

A hand pushed him out of the room, and he turned back to see a small bluenette standing there with several books under one arm. Behind her a big brute of a guy was standing, glaring at everything and everyone. "Get going," Levy McGarden, his childhood friend and cousin, grinned. "And remember to buy me and Gajeel –" she gave the brute behind her a gentle pat on the arm "- a sandwich before they're sold out."

He grinned back at her before walking off towards the entrance. It would be so much easier to go down to the store not too far from here and buy some food there.

As he reached the entrance hall, the doors opened and a very petite girl came running through, mumbling to herself about oversleeping and being a mess. She was obviously a first year, with her nervous demeanour and young face. Clear characteristic. But she was kinda cute…

A few meters before reaching him she looked up and for a moment he caught deep brown eyes, before she blushed and quickly looked down again, moving out of the way. Although not enough for her to avoid contact completely and her shoulder met his arm…

He heard her steps continue but his own had stopped. _Wendy…_ A lifetime passed before his eyes and he stood frozen, so silent he couldn't even hear his own breathing. But he heard her stop, and he knew she was seeing it too. Seeing more than him for she had lived far longer than him.

"Gerard?" she whispered, her voice silent, shaking, unsure of herself. "Is that you?"

He was lost for words as he turned to face her, completely amazed that she was suddenly standing right in front of him. But what she saw in his face seemed to be enough for she exclaimed a happy sound and ran the few steps to reach him, and here she jumped straight into his waiting arms.

* * *

><p>Well, this is the end. For now. I have one and a half story planned for the end of the trilogy – that may turn into a quartet. As I've said I'm working on a long oneshot for Gajeel's story – with his little bookworm. It's going slow with school and other stories. I'm currently working on three original works as well so I have my hands full. And I do have my final exams in two months. But it will come – in time. I've also considered working on a short story about Mavis and Zeref. I know their story was messed up and there were a lot of loose ends and as much as I'd like to humour the time we live in and have the reader work something out themselves I am also terribly outdated and love to leave NO loose ends. So you MAY see something about them.<p>

Also, as you may have noticed I used a lot of stuff about 'the wheel' and 'fate' and 'the inevitable' in the first few chapter titles and in the last. They were supposed to hold all the way through but I forgot. In any case I thought I'd add them here;

**Quotes that inspired this story**

"The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn." - Tuck Everlasting

"Everything's a wheel, turning and turning, never stopping. The frogs is part of it, and the bugs, and the fish, and the wood thush, too.  
>And people. But never the same ones. Always coming in new, always growing and changing, and always moving on. Thats the way it's suppose to be. That's the way it is.<br>If we didn't move it out ourself, it would stay here forever, trying to get loose, but stuck. That's what us Tucks are, Winnie.  
>We ain't part of the wheel anymore." - Tuck Everlasting<p>

There is no such thing as coincidence, in this world there is only the inevitable. - xxxHOLiC


End file.
